Every company has its unique organizational makeup and office culture. The same goes for their leaders, who shape the projects and guide their teams using their style. But when it comes to technical leadership, it involves more than managing tasks and keeping development teams on the schedule. Technical leadership, when it works best, is a combination of hard skills (those job-specific attributes that are measurable) and soft skills (not easily measurable and universal). While a combination of both applies to leaders in other areas, what sets technical leaders apart is their role mentor to their entire development team. As these leaders steer the course for projects and products. They will also interact with other project teams, acting as negotiators, facilitators, point people, and more for the various project stakeholders. In essence, technical leadership is a multi-role position; and successful leaders tend to share particular soft skills.

The first is being a visionary. Always intrinsic to these leaders is having full awareness of the project – its scope, parameters, design requirements, timelines, and so on. Not only does the technical lead have to be fully aware of their team’s responsibilities, but they must also have an understanding of the other teams’ roles in the overall project.

The next is that of an educator. As with any design project, team members will possess a mix of skill types and levels. While some may have extensive experience and require very little guidance, there may be others at the junior level on their first project. These team members represent opportunities for coaching and educating. Leaders must provide guidance that benefits that junior member and is necessary for ensuring project efficiency.

The third  is the role of a communicator. While teams will be well-versed in the project’s technical aspects, the same can’t be said of everyone involved. There will be nontechnical stakeholders who, while not directly involved, will still need to be kept apprised of progress and other pertinent news. Team leads will need to “translate” much of the highly complex terminology and jargon into language that is easily understandable and digestible to the lay audience. Really, it is about distilling information into their terms to explain how the team is meeting requirements. On the flip side, these stakeholders will be providing their needs; the technical lead will “translate” their needs into measurable project requirements.

Lastly, but perhaps the most important skill of all, is empathy. Every project will run into unforeseen complications, setbacks, or personal/professional disagreements. While less experienced team leads see them as obstacles, skilled technical leaders will see opportunities to improve the project. It is the leader’s responsibility not just to be fully informed on the project, but also to be aware of the working environment. That starts with retaining a positive, constructive attitude throughout, regardless of outside circumstances. It also means having the capacity to listen to and experience the same difficulties as the rest of the team. Not everyone is born with the skill, but fortunately, one can learn empathy. It has been shown to foster collaboration, innovation, and the positive emotional health of those under their charge – those who aren’t well practiced in this soft skill should not underestimate its immense value to the workplace environment.