It’s summertime in Europe. I’m just back from my summer holidays, and I want to restart the blog with a different kind of post: my journey from Senior System Engineer to Team Leader. I’ll share how I transitioned between these roles and outline my leadership principles for the team, focusing on delivering the highest level of service to our customers while maintaining a positive working environment. This includes balancing high standards, thorough documentation, continuous learning and improvement, and, importantly, having fun, all in a fully remote environment. There’s a lot to explain, so let’s start from the beginning!

Something About My Previous Role

I spent 20 years building my career as a System Engineer. At some point, I reached the senior level, consulting for large enterprises and delivering complex projects, which was incredibly rewarding! I also became part of a fantastic professional community, making great friends and becoming well known in the industry, speaking at conferences across Europe and the US. Until recently, I played important roles within teams but was never responsible for leading one. One of my strengths has always been turning colleagues into friends, and one of these friends, on a lucky evening, offered me the opportunity to transition to a new role: DevSecOps Team Leader.
Without hesitation, I accepted!

The Transition Journey

When I joined the new company, I had to reinvent my routine:

  • New colleagues
  • Different work focus
  • New technology partners
  • New responsibilities: people!

By this point in my career, I had already been a fully remote worker for nine years, so remote work itself wasn’t a challenge; it was just a matter of moving from one Slack workspace to another. As a team leader, I was now responsible for building and maintaining relationships with new customers and technology partners. I was already familiar with these routines, so this part felt natural.

But what was the main challenge in this new role? Managing a team, of course! Engineers are not code, each person needs to be understood and placed in the role where they can contribute best and stay motivated, with a healthy work/life balance.

Working Principles That Helped

Here are some of the principles I use every day with my team:

  • Collaboration: There is no “me,” only “we,” because we are a team. Successes and failures are shared by everyone. Teamwork is fundamental! I expect everyone to be available to help and support each other.
  • Documentation: I’m a stickler for documentation. Everything must be documented, code must be commented, and all work should be pushed to our Git or document repository. If it’s not there, it’s a problem!
  • Continuous learning: Every free minute is an opportunity to study, attend a webinar, or experiment in our playground lab.
  • Delegation: When a team member is capable of handling a task, I delegate it. Delegation is a reward and a sign that I’m doing my job well. Of course, if a delegated task fails, the responsibility is still mine.
  • Having fun: We are a fully remote team with different ages and cultures, but we all share a passion for technology. We have a daily meeting to align on tasks, and if the conversation drifts off-topic, that’s fine too. Communication doesn’t have to be strictly professional. I love getting to know my teammates better.

Lessons Learned

Did everything go perfectly, and am I a natural-born leader? Not exactly. Over the past three years, I’ve encountered a variety of situations with my engineers—because engineers are people, not code! Everyone is different, and I needed to find the right way to communicate with each person.

Here are some key lessons I’ve learned:

  • Team roles must be clear, from the top down. There should be no ambiguity; everyone needs to know their roles and responsibilities.
  • Direct and honest communication is always best.
  • Every team member is important, but no one is indispensable, including me. People will move on, so it’s important to have redundancy in skills to cover positions during transitions.
  • Sharing is caring. After 20+ years in the field, I’ve probably faced most situations before. Part of my role is to teach and help others avoid the same pitfalls. A fully remote position may not be suitable for everyone. It’s important to ensure that every team member stays engaged and motivated, especially younger members or those without prior experience.

From time to time, people face personal challenges—someone might have a newborn, or it could simply be a difficult day. As a team leader, it’s important to recognize these situations and, within appropriate professional boundaries, offer support when possible and appropriate.

Advice for Others

Being a team leader isn’t for everyone. You might be a fantastic engineer, but if you don’t have the right attitude toward people, you’ll struggle in this role. Conversely, you might be a great manager, but if you don’t understand the technologies your team uses daily, you’ll also struggle.

The best leaders strike a balance between technical expertise and people skills. It’s not easy, but if you’re starting this path, be prepared to spend a lot of time talking with people about their professional and personal needs.

Conclusion

After three years, I feel very positive about my journey! I really enjoy this role and hope to work with even larger groups of talented engineers in the future. As I said, this role isn’t for everyone, but if you’re the right fit, it can be incredibly rewarding.

One of the most fulfilling parts of this journey has been seeing the personal and professional growth of my engineers. Watching team members embrace new working methodologies, push beyond their comfort zones, and thrive in a collaborative environment is deeply satisfying. It’s especially gratifying when someone takes the initiative to speak at industry events or conferences, sharing their insights and representing our team’s work with pride.

I’m also proud when I see a team member leverage the experience and skills they gained with us to step confidently into a new, more challenging position elsewhere. While it’s always bittersweet to say goodbye, I see these moments as shared successes, proof that the experience we created together truly makes a difference.

At the end of the day, leadership isn’t just about meeting goals, it’s about enabling others to reach their potential. If this story helps even one person make the leap and embrace a leadership path, then it’s served its purpose!