How do I become a team leader

[northernladuk]

Well it depends on the actual role but I've seen plenty of team leaders that do the same job as the rest but with just some added responsibilities. This don't always extend to working with people beyond the team and may not get you working in the organisation. Are you not talking about moving in to management? I think the title of TL can be generic and will mean different things in different organisations. Open to anyone else to out me right though.

[vwdan]

I think the title of TL can be generic and will mean different things in different organisations. Open to anyone else to out me right though.

Totally with you on this. Most TLs I see are really just 'Senior [whatever]' that are just a half step up from the team, but still 99% hands on.

[northernladuk]

**** me. Just wrote a long detailed addition to this and my phone said I wasn't logged in and I lost it. Bugger. Can't be arsed to write it all again so the shortened version is... Has the op put any thought as to whether this new skill is going to get contracts? I don't see many gig's for team leaders and generic man management type roles hardly need specialised skills. Not only has he got do a bit of work to understand his career path better he needs to research how it will affect his ability to get gig's. Added to that he'll be back in the market as a newbie so hard to get that first contract.

[SpontaneousOrder]

Depends on what 'team lead' means, as already mentioned. I see loads of ads for team leads which really means (as i also happen to think the term should mean) a senior developer with enough technical expertise and experience to provide solid leadership (assuming they have the personality traits to go with it).

It's like a troop/platoon sergeant - he's the leader (more so than the troop officer) because he's normally the guy with the experience to allow him to be an effective leader. He's seem some tulip!, as they say in the Vietnam movies.

If you want line management responsibilities, then with everyone moving towards things like Scrum I think that's becoming more and more a task for a dev manager type who owns several teams - which sounds more like a permie move to me.

[eek]

As a contractor your none techie options are architect, analysis or project management.

[sal]

As a contractor your none techie options are architect, analysis or project management.

+1, the odd contract advertised as a Team Lead is usually a senior technical position, not managerial. As like others have already pointed out Team Lead is a very broad definition and the actual responsibilities vary between the organizations.

Even if by a wild chance you manage to secure one contract as a non-tech TL, you are pigeonholing yourself in very, very tiny niche. And what about long term plans, do you plan to be TL for the rest of your life? Usually people who crave management roles want to go higher in the hierarchy and this is only possible as a perm.

So far the only couple of cases i have seen of a contractor in a management position were so the contractor can be used as a scapegoat during major structural changes.

P.S. Oh yeah, almost forgot. The answer to the original question is to go perm, a good option would be to see if you can transition to a perm role with a current ClintCo you like, many clients are happy to get an experienced contractor for Permie peanuts.

[BolshieBastard]

I can never get my head around a contractor wanting to micro manage others or a team. Weird.

[GlenW]

How do I become a team leader?

Know nowt and talk a lot.

[northernladuk]

As a contractor your none techie options are architect, analysis or project management.

Or Service Management?

[eek]

Or Service Management?

I would have thought that was a bit of a difficult leap from development. The other roles are things you can hang off a development role to show you know the basics Service Management is probably too far away development to create plausible comments in a CV...