The authenticity of leadership

In winter 2021, the CTO of VueStorefront sent me a message, "We would like you to lead the Vue Storefront Magento team." After years of writing code and being a "pixel-perfect" frontend developer, this was my chance for promotion. However, as I was about to discover, the path from being a skilled programmer to an effective tech lead was far more demanding than I had imagined.

Life as a developer

When I worked as a programmer, I had everything under control. I could find a solution to almost every problem. I felt like an expert in my field.

I'd never been a project/team leader, so the offer from VueStorefront was quite interesting at the time.

I would have continued coding Magento, but a 30% raise and the move from a software house to a product company also prompted me to make a change.

Team leading

In the first weeks, I felt like I was wearing someone else's shoes. The skills that made me an effective programmer—deep focus, technical perfectionism, and independent work—were no longer enough.

I painfully recognized all my weaknesses. I tried to figure it out, caught up, and worked my ass off. Every day was incredibly intense.

For a long time, I tried to fit into the image of the "ideal Tech Lead." It wasn't until I stopped pretending and started drawing from my own experiences that I found my authentic voice.

You can read books and learn how to be a perfect manager. But honesty is what matters to people. It's better to be yourself and often even admit a mistake or weakness than to pretend to be someone you're not.

I received praise; they said I was doing well and that I was a good leader, but I felt increasingly overwhelmed.

The turning point came when I realized I had started to fear the sight of my computer. The same work that once energized me now left me exhausted and disconnected.

More hours at work === better results. Reality quickly verified this belief. When I was exhausted, I made worse decisions and couldn't support the team.

In meetings, I caught myself nodding while my mind wandered elsewhere. At home, I couldn't stop thinking about work, and at work, I couldn't focus on tasks.

That's enough

I needed help. After months of trying to be the perfect technical leader who could do everything, I finally opened up to my boss about my struggles.

After that, I started setting clear boundaries between work time and private time, treating my energy as a limited resource that needed to be carefully managed.

I tried a lot to recover, but finally, after three years, I decided that I needed to step back and stop being a team lead. Anyway, I learned a great deal, and it was worth the time and energy I invested.

Final word

I spent too long trying to be a tech lead, instead of simply being myself. The most valuable lesson I learned wasn't about management techniques or project planning.

Actually, it was about the power of authenticity. A team leader doesn't have to be the same as all other managers. The goal is to build a team around your strengths and be honest about your weaknesses.

Published: 12/09/2025 #blog #leadership