No Growth Path? 5 Steps to Becoming a Tech Lead Anyway

You might be doing leadership work, but if decision-makers don’t see it, you won’t get credit for it. Here’s why:

You’re Describing Tasks, Not Impact

If you describe your work in terms of tasks, people see you as a contributor. Start talking about impact and decision-making.

Here are some examples:

🚫 “I built a caching layer.”

✅ “I designed a caching system that cut database load by 40% and sped up API responses.”

🚫 “I wrote the authentication service.”

✅ “I built a secure authentication system that reduced login failures and strengthened account security.”

🚫 “I integrated Stripe for payments.”

✅ “I led the integration of Stripe, ensuring seamless transactions and reducing failed payments by 15%.”

Your work doesn’t just exist—it creates value. Start framing it that way.

You’re Leading in the Background—And That’s a Problem

If you’re guiding engineers or making key decisions, but your manager doesn’t know, it doesn’t count.

Here’s how to change that:

Make decision-making explicit. When proposing a solution, explain why it’s the best approach.

🚫 “We should use Redis for caching.”

✅ “Using Redis will reduce read latency by 50% and improve scalability, ensuring we can handle peak traffic without database strain.”

Summarize discussions and next steps. Leadership isn’t just about ideas—it’s about driving action. After a meeting, send a quick summary:

“We decided to move forward with Kubernetes for orchestration. Next step: I’ll draft the migration plan and get feedback from the team by Friday.”

Be the person who clarifies priorities. If there’s confusion, step in:

“To stay on track, let’s focus on getting the API stable first before adding new endpoints. That way, we avoid breaking changes later.”

When people start looking to you for clarity and direction, you’re leading—even without a title.

You Haven’t Made Leadership Unignorable

If your company doesn’t have a clear leadership path, you have to create one.

• Fill the gaps no one owns. If project coordination is messy, step in and organize. If onboarding is a pain point, document key processes. Leaders fix inefficiencies before being asked.
• Mentor others. If a junior engineer is stuck, don’t just fix their code—teach them why something works. Over time, people will naturally see you as the go-to person for guidance.
• Advocate for long-term decisions. Leadership isn’t just about what you build—it’s about ensuring what you build lasts. Push for best practices, even if they take extra effort now.

If You’re Doing the Work, Make Sure It’s Seen

The difference between an engineer and a leader isn’t the title—it’s how others perceive your impact.

Start talking about outcomes, make your influence visible, and step into leadership gaps. If you do this consistently, people will start seeing you as a tech lead—long before you get the title.

When I ran a poll asking, “What’s stopping you from becoming a leader in tech?”, a large group of engineers said something important: “I don’t know where to start.”

Even if you’re already doing the work of a tech lead—making technical decisions, mentoring teammates, and driving initiatives forward—it’s not enough. If leadership doesn’t recognize it, it won’t mean anything when it’s time for a promotion.

This section is your roadmap. Here’s how to make your leadership unignorable and position yourself for a formal leadership role.

Make Your Leadership Visible to Decision-Makers

Good work doesn’t speak for itself. You have to make sure the right people see it.

Keep a Leadership Impact Log

Start tracking your leadership contributions—not just the technical work, but how you’re improving the team. This will be critical for performance reviews and promotion discussions.

🚫 “Helped onboard new engineers.”

✅ “Created an onboarding guide that cut ramp-up time from 4 weeks to 2.”

🚫 “Refactored legacy code.”

✅ “Led a billing system refactor, reducing payment failures by 25% and improving maintainability.”

Your manager might see your day-to-day work, but when it’s time for promotions, they rely on concrete evidence of leadership impact. This log becomes your proof.

Make Your Leadership Actions Public

You don’t need to brag, but visibility matters.

Summarize important decisions in Slack or email.

“We reviewed the trade-offs and chose Redis caching, which cut database load by 40%. Next step: rolling it out in production.”

Send weekly updates to your manager. Keep it short:

“This week, I led the migration plan for the legacy system and helped two junior engineers debug API issues. Next, I’ll finalize the rollout strategy.”

Over time, this builds a clear track record of leadership.

Frame Your Work in a Way That Gets You Promoted

Your manager isn’t tracking everything you do. When promotions happen, they rely on what’s documented and visible—so you need to present your work correctly.

Use Leadership Language in Reviews & 1:1s

Stop framing yourself as just a contributor. Speak like a leader.

🚫 “I helped debug production issues.”

✅ “I owned production stability by identifying root causes, coordinating with teams, and implementing a long-term fix.”

🚫 “I contributed to the migration project.”

✅ “I led key parts of the migration, ensuring zero downtime and mentoring junior engineers through the process.”

Align Your Work with Business Goals

Executives care about impact. If you want leadership to recognize you, connect your work to business outcomes.

🚫 “Built a new API”

✅ “Built a new API that reduced page load times by 30%, improving customer retention.”

🚫 “Improved test coverage”

✅ “Increased test coverage from 60% to 90%, reducing production bugs by 40%.”

If your work impacts revenue, reliability, or efficiency, call it out.

At some point, you need to make it official.

Here are two tips how to start that conversation:

1. Talk to Your Manager About a Growth Path

Instead of waiting for a promotion, ask directly:

“I’ve been leading technical decisions, mentoring teammates, and driving key projects. I’d like to formalize this into a tech lead role. What would need to happen for that to be official?”

This does two things:

- It forces leadership to acknowledge your contributions.

- It sets clear expectations for what’s needed to get the title.

2. Propose a Tech Lead Role If It Doesn’t Exist

In startups or flat orgs, there may be no official tech lead track. Create one.

Show the gaps: “Right now, we don’t have a clear owner for technical decisions and mentorship. I’ve already been filling that role—how can we make it official?”

Frame it as a win for the company: “A tech lead role will help improve team alignment, reduce decision-making delays, and improve technical consistency.”

If you present it as a business need, leadership is more likely to consider it.

If You’re Doing the Work, Make Sure It’s Seen

If you want to get noticed, you need to look beyond your team to the goals of your entire company.

• Make sure decision-makers see your leadership work.
• Frame your contributions in terms of business impact.
• Have the conversation about making your leadership official.

But what if you’ve done all of this, and your company still doesn’t offer a clear growth path? That’s what we’ll tackle next.

You’ve done everything right. You’ve stepped up, taken ownership, and made your leadership visible. But there’s still no official leadership track at your company—no promotions, no tech lead roles, and no clear way to move up.

Now what?

At this point, you have two choices:

1. Create a leadership path where none exists.

2. Position yourself for leadership opportunities elsewhere.

Here’s how to take control of your career—whether you stay or go.

Make Leadership an Unavoidable Conversation

If leadership roles aren’t clearly defined, you need to force the conversation.

1. Get Clear on Why Leadership Roles Don’t Exist

Before pushing for change, understand why your company isn’t creating leadership positions. Ask your manager:

• “Has there been discussion about introducing a tech lead role? What’s the company’s stance on leadership paths for engineers?”
• “Are there specific reasons why we don’t have formal promotions or career progression in engineering?”

The answers will tell you whether leadership is open to change or if you’re hitting a dead end.

If the company simply hasn’t thought about it yet, you have room to create an opportunity. But if leadership is deliberately avoiding promotions, that’s a red flag.

Push for a Leadership Track (If There’s an Opening for It)

Some companies don’t have tech lead roles because no one has pushed for them yet. If leadership is open to change, take the initiative.

1. Make the Business Case for a Leadership Role

If you can show how a tech lead role would improve team efficiency and product delivery, leadership is more likely to consider it.

Instead of saying:

🚫 “I want a promotion.”

Frame it as:

✅ “Right now, engineers are making technical decisions in silos, and there’s no clear owner for cross-team alignment. A tech lead role would reduce confusion, improve delivery speed, and ensure better long-term architecture decisions.”

Your goal is to make not having a tech lead a problem that leadership wants to fix.

2. Take Ownership of the Role Before It Exists

If you’re already leading, act as the tech lead before the title exists.

• Start defining best practices and technical standards.
• Guide discussions on architecture and strategy.
• Act as the bridge between engineering and other teams.

Once leadership sees that the role is already working, it’s much easier for them to justify making it official.

3. Push for Clear Growth Criteria

If leadership is hesitant to create a tech lead role, ask:

“What would it take for an engineer here to move into a leadership position? Can we define specific criteria for technical leadership growth?”

Even if they won’t create a formal title, this conversation helps set a path for recognition and advancement.

But what if leadership isn’t interested in change? That’s when you need to consider your next move.

When It’s Time to Move On

If you’ve done the work and leadership still isn’t recognizing it, you need to ask yourself:

• Do I see a future here?
• Are senior roles only given to external hires?
• Can I realistically grow at this company in the next 1–2 years?

If the answers point to a dead end, it’s time to look elsewhere.

1. Position Yourself for External Leadership Roles

Your next job title should reflect the leadership work you’re already doing.

• Update your résumé to highlight decision-making, mentorship, and technical ownership.
• Use LinkedIn to showcase your leadership insights. Write about how you approach system design, team alignment, or technical strategy.
• Leverage your network. Many leadership hires happen through referrals. Reach out to engineering managers and tech leads at companies with clear growth paths.

You’re not just finding a new job—you’re finding a company that actually values technical leadership.

2. Be Intentional About Your Next Company

Before accepting a new role, ask:

• “What does career growth look like here for engineers?”
• “Do you promote from within for leadership roles?”
• “What does success look like for someone who wants to move into technical leadership?”

The goal is to avoid landing in another company with no clear path forward.

If your company doesn’t have a clear leadership path, you have to create one for yourself.

Take control of your career now—before another year passes.

Cheers,
Gábor