Why Most Tech Leads Get Stuck at Mid-Level Roles (and 5 ways not to make this mistake)

The first step is knowing the metrics that matter most to your company. Technical achievements don’t stand alone—they’re valuable only if they support the company’s goals.

Action Step:

Do a 'Business Goals Audit'

• Ask your manager: “What are the top 3 priorities for the company this quarter?”
• Review company updates: Look at quarterly reports or all-hands presentations to find recurring themes.
• Map engineering goals to business goals: For example, if the business aims to reduce churn, think about how your team’s work contributes.

Example:

If you reduced API downtime by 20%, frame it as “improving reliability to retain customers and reduce churn-related costs.”

It’s not enough to achieve something technical, you must frame it in terms of user and business impact.

Formula for Translation:
[Achievement] → [How It Helps] → [Business Outcome]

Action Step:

Practice Reframing Updates

For each technical accomplishment, answer these questions:

• What did we achieve? (e.g., improved page load time by 30%)
• How does this benefit users? (e.g., faster checkout experience)
• How does it impact the business? (e.g., increased sales by 10%)

It’s not enough to achieve something technical, you must frame it in terms of user and business impact.

Stakeholders don’t care about implementation details—they care about results. Your updates should be concise, outcome-focused, and jargon-free.

Action Step:

Use the 3-Part Update Framework

• State the problem: Explain the business challenge you addressed.
  Example: “Slow onboarding led to a 15% drop in user retention.”
• Highlight the solution: Describe your team’s approach in simple terms.
  Example: “We streamlined the sign-up flow, cutting time to onboard by 40%.”
• Show the impact: Connect it to a meaningful business result.
  Example: “Retention rates improved by 10%, adding $50,000 in recurring revenue.”

Pro Tip:

Before sharing updates, run them through the “Tweet Test.” If you can summarize your message in 280 characters or less, it’s ready for stakeholders.

Don’t wait for stakeholders to connect the dots between your work and the company’s goals. Take initiative by spotting alignment opportunities.

Action Step:

Build a 'Tech-Business Impact Matrix'

Create a table with two columns:

• Column 1: Business Goals (e.g., reduce churn, increase revenue)
• Column 2: Potential Tech Initiatives (e.g., optimize performance, build faster onboarding features)

Share this with your manager to prioritize high-impact projects.

Example:

If customer churn is a problem, propose creating a dashboard for real-time issue tracking to boost responsiveness and retention.

Stakeholders are busy. If you don’t consistently highlight your contributions, they may go unnoticed. Keep your impact visible.

Action Step:

Create a Quarterly Impact Report

Share a one-page summary every quarter:

• Top 3 Wins: What your team accomplished.
• Business Outcomes: How those wins moved the business.
• Next Opportunities: Suggestions for future alignment.

Example:
“Reduced infrastructure costs by $200,000 this quarter by optimizing resource allocation. Next quarter, we plan to focus on automating these processes for further savings.”

Let's say that Jane, a senior developer, optimized the the API, reducing latency by 50%. Instead of calling this a technical win, share the update below:

• Problem: “Customers experienced delays during checkout.”
• Solution: “We reduced latency by 50% through performance tuning.”
• Impact: “This increased completed checkouts by 15%, adding $250,000 in quarterly revenue.”

Management will look out for such updates, leading to promotions and more opportunities.

Start using these strategies today:

• Audit your work: Connect recent accomplishments to business outcomes.
• Reframe updates: Use the 3-part framework for clear, impactful messaging.
• Track results: Share a simple impact report each quarter.

By showing how your work contributes to the company’s goals, you’ll gain influence, trust, and opportunities to lead.

Cheers,
Gábor