Hey all,
I’m working at a small SaaS company, only 10 of us in total, and half are devs. Problem is, the dev team doesn’t communicate much — everyone’s in their own world, working solo, and we rarely do code reviews. My boss just asked me to run weekly dev meetings, review all the merge requests, and basically take the lead for the team. But I’ve never worked under a senior before, and honestly, I’m not sure how to approach this. Most of our team is pretty junior too, and I feel like I need to level up my own skills, but I’m kinda lost on where to start.
I really want to push for more focus on tech debt and stability, but my non-tech manager only cares about pumping out new features, and I’m struggling to figure out how to balance it all.
Not here to flex or anything – just looking for advice from anyone with more experience!
Man, I feel you. Leading a junior team is tough when you’re also trying to improve yourself. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to know everything – it’s okay to learn as you go. Use your team meetings to figure out where everyone’s struggling and make it collaborative.
For your non-tech manager, try giving them a breakdown of how much time tech debt could save long term. If they see it as an investment instead of something that delays features, you might get more support.
Heey maan…mad respect for stepping up! I’m still working my way up, but when I was tasked with leading a small team, I found that setting some basic standards for communication was key. I’d start with just having each dev drop a daily or weekly update on what they’re working on, kinda like a mini stand-up
As for tech debt, maybe pitch it to your boss like this: “Every time we leave this unfixed, it takes longer to add new features later.” If you show that addressing debt can save time/money down the road, it’ll be easier to get them on board.
It’s tough balancing tech debt with new features. One thing you could try is working the tech debt into the new features. When you’re building something, add a couple of refactors in there, so your team isn’t just tacking on new stuff to shaky code.
Also, try getting your team to pair program a bit. Even though it’s hard to force it on devs, pair programming can naturally lead to better communication and knowledge sharing, which will make those code reviews easier down the line.
I was in the same boat a couple of years back. One thing that worked for me was implementing a light process like “weekly demo days” where devs show what they’ve done. That way, you’re fostering communication without it feeling like a formal meeting. You can sneak in those reviews, too.
For your manager, you might have to explain tech debt in business terms. Like, “Hey, if we don’t handle this now, it’ll slow us down next quarter.” It’s about finding that balance and showing them the bigger picture.
Hey man, sounds like you’re in a bit of a tight spot. First off, kudos for stepping up. I’d suggest starting small: establish those weekly meetings, but keep 'em short and sweet. Focus on getting everyone on the same page first, and the reviews will naturally follow once the team gets used to talking more. For upskilling, check out leadership/mentorship courses online – there are tons of them, and they can really boost your confidence.
For balancing new features vs. tech debt, try to get your manager to see how much tech debt can slow down new features in the long run. Maybe suggest doing sprints where you dedicate like 20% to tech debt. It’s all about showing how fixing the foundation makes feature work faster.