After 15 years leading teams, I still commit every week. On purpose.

15 years ago I stopped being a full-time developer and started leading teams. 22 years into my career, I still push code every week.

That's not accidental.

I lead better when I still code. Here's why, in concrete terms:

1. I can read a PR and know whether the review comment is pedantic or load-bearing. Without that, you either rubber-stamp or micromanage — both corrode trust.

2. I can sit in a design meeting and spot the decision that will cost us six months in two years. Architecture intuition is a use-it-or-lose-it muscle.

3. My engineers don't have to translate problems into "manager-friendly" language. The vocabulary stays technical, so the signal stays intact.

4. When a team is stuck and morale is cracking, I can take one unglamorous task and ship it. Nothing rebuilds trust faster than the lead who PRs the boring thing on a Friday night.

I'm not arguing every engineering leader should code. I'm arguing that if you started as a builder, letting that atrophy is a loss — for you and your team.

My current week: reviewing PRs at day job, shipping ETL + dashboards + a voice agent for a small business on the side, writing this post between meetings.

If you're a lead who stopped coding and miss it — start small. One personal project. One boring internal tool. You don't have to choose between lanes.

What's the tension you feel between leading and building?

P.S. New tech post every Wednesday.

#EngineeringLeadership #TechLeadership #HandsOnLeadership