Maximize Your Productivity As A Software Engineer [Part 5] - Focus On The System

Many software engineers simply tell themselves *"I'll do better next time"* when they have an unproductive period - This almost never works. This lesson teaches you:

- Why relying on sheer willpower to be productive is a terrible idea and what you should do instead
- What it means to have a true system around your productivity
- The objectives of a productivity system

Maximize Your Productivity As A Software Engineer [Part 4] - Stay The Course

It's incredibly easy to get distracted with random incoming tasks, especially at a fast-paced company like FAANG. This lesson teaches you:

- The importance of staying the course and sticking to your high-impact, ruthlessly prioritized tasks
- How to diplomatically push back and say "No" (saying "Yes" to everything is one of the easiest ways to destroy your productivity as a software engineer)

Maximize Your Productivity As A Software Engineer [Part 3] - Finding The Best Things To Work On

If you have gone through this course in order, you now know that working on the right things is far more important than merely working on things faster. So how do yo figure out the best things to work on in your organization? This lesson teaches you:

- How to identify the optimal opportunities within your space
- A formula to classify tasks and projects by quality and stack rank them
- What you need to do with your prioritized tasks, particularly with your manager

To dive even deeper into this topic: ["How to figure out what the most important projects are?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/CgCPA60bDDHoOteN7Lmb/how-to-figure-out-what-the-most-important-projects-are/)

Maximize Your Productivity As A Software Engineer [Part 2] - The Productivity Giant You Are Missing

When it comes to productivity, most software engineers have the completely incorrect strategy of simply working harder. This isn't sustainable and misses the forest for the trees. This lesson teaches you:

- The true highest leverage thing you can do when it comes to your productivity, explained with an example from Meta and Google
- Why working on the right things is much better than just working on your current things faster

Here's the promotion course: [\[Course\] Nail Your Promotion As A Software Engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/course/nail-your-promotion-as-a-software-engineer/)

Maximize Your Productivity As A Software Engineer [Part 1] - How This Course Works

As a software engineer, you're expected to get a lot done with very little time. The compounding problem on top of that is how incredibly easy it is to get distracted as a digital warrior. This course is here to teach you how you can move faster and waste less time. Here are the core parts of the lesson:

- Your instructor [Alex Chiou](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-chiou/) walks you through his extensive 10+ year Silicon Valley background across top companies like Meta and Robinhood, explaining how he was able to be a high-performing tech lead at both those companies working 30-40 hours weeks (particularly at Meta).
- You'll understand why being productive as a software engineer is so hard and why being unproductive as a software engineer is so easy.
- We walk you through the course objectives. By the end of the course, you will:
  - 💯 Know the **true** most important productivity booster

  - 💡 Champion the right **mentality** to foster productivity

  - 🏃‍♂️ Use the right tactics to **move faster**

  - 🛡️ Have shields to prevent you from **wasting time**

  - 🤔 Learn how to **debug** a lack of productivity

If you want to learn how Alex onboarded at lightning speed at Robinhood, check out his in-depth case study here: [\[Case Study\] Becoming A Tech Lead Again In Just 1 Month After Joining Robinhood From Meta](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/X8vpfJooDpsX915ouC00/case-study-becoming-a-tech-lead-again-in-just-1-m)

Startup Employee To Startup Founder: What I Wish I Knew

From 2013 to 2023, Tongbo Huang worked as an engineer or manager at three high-growth companies: Pinterest, Chekr, and Amplitude.

After 10 years working in startups of various sizes, Tongo decided to start his own: [**Sidr Tax**](https://www.sidr.io/). In the past year, Sidr Tax has surpassed 6 figures of revenue and is growing rapidly.

In this talk, Tongbo will share:

- How he thought about taking funding (he previously went through Y Combinator) and why he decided to bootstrap for Sidr.
- How he ended up working on a tax startup and how Shopify is fueling his growth.
- The problem with founders today looking for "exciting" ideas.

Connect with Tongbo here: [**https://www.linkedin.com/in/tongbohuang/**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/tongbohuang/)

\[Taro Top 10\] Entrepreneurship And Tech Startups: <https://www.jointaro.com/playlist/ArtlSzF17v7cad1K6TJG/>

How To Be An Effective Tech Lead [Part 17] - Go Deeper: Follow Through

Congratulations on making it to the final lesson of the course! This lesson teaches you:

- The key takeaways of being an effective tech lead
- Technical items you can take on to start being a better tech lead
- Leadership items you can take on to start being a better tech lead

For further support, start career discussions in the Taro forum to get top-tier advice: <https://www.jointaro.com/questions/create/>

You can also go deeper with our related courses:

- [\[Course\] Level Up Your Code Quality As A Software Engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/course/level-up-your-code-quality-as-a-software-engineer/)
- [\[Course\] System Design Masterclass: Shipping Real Features To Production](https://www.jointaro.com/course/frontend-system-design-masterclass-building-playlists/)
- [\[Course\] Effective Communication For Engineers](https://www.jointaro.com/course/effective-communication-for-engineers/)
- [\[Course\] Nail Your Promotion As A Software Engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/course/nail-your-promotion-as-a-software-engineer/)

How To Be An Effective Tech Lead [Part 16] - Be Visible

While you need to lead with selflessness and put the team first as a tech lead, this doesn't mean that you can't be selfish at all. As a tech lead, it's critical for you to get proper credit as well. This lesson teaches you:

- The main tool you have to boost your visibility and prove your depth of contributions
- How to be visible in general

How To Be An Effective Tech Lead [Part 15] - Unite The Non-Engineers (XFN)

One of the most common traps engineers fall into is only caring about other engineers and engineering work. You cannot make this mistake as a tech lead. This lesson teaches you:

- The core non-engineering relationship you need to maintain in order to effectively lead projects
- Other examples of non-engineering (XFN, cross-functional) relationships to maintain
- Why earning trust across several organizational functions is so important for your role as a tech lead

How To Be An Effective Tech Lead [Part 14] - Manage Expectations

As a tech lead, you will have a ton of things to do and not a ton of time. Because of this, you need to be crystal clear about what you're working on, why you're working on it, and when you're going to have that work done. This lesson teaches you:

- The danger and hugely negative consequences of mismanaging expectations
- Proactive mechanisms you can use to maintain alignment around expectations
- How to properly react and communicate when expectations are falling through

How To Be An Effective Tech Lead [Part 13] - Leverage The Power Of Feedback

Feedback is the main fuel you need to improve as a software engineer. It's especially important for tech leads as they are responsible for the well-being and productivity of many other people. This lesson teaches you:

- The proper mentality to have when it comes to feedback
- The right medium to deliver feedback based on its contents
- How to deliver feedback in a healthy way that doesn't hurt people
- What to do after receiving/delivering feedback to guarantee that it actually creates value

To dive deeper into how feedback is a gift, read through our excellent explainer here: ["Can someone elaborate on "always treating feedback as a gift"?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/4DoEnMIq2ISadfAJuwp9/can-someone-elaborate-on-always-treating-feedback-as-a-gift/)

How To Be An Effective Tech Lead [Part 12] - Foster Trust

Trust or social capital is the primary currency you need to get anything done as a tech lead. This lesson teaches you:

- Why fostering trust is so important for team efficiency, explained through a simple example
- How to build up trust when things aren't going perfectly (which will inevitably happen to you as a tech lead)
- How to build up trust when things are going well, taking full advantage of positive momentum

Learn how to build deep relationships fast here: [\[Masterclass\] How To Build Deep Relationships Quickly In Tech](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/tyaPFMXPoz2pmzB7OVzt/masterclass-how-to-build-deep-relationships-quickly-in-tech/)

How To Be An Effective Tech Lead [Part 11] - Set The Direction

One of the crowning growth moments for software engineers is when they become less focused on *how* to get where they need to be and more focused on *where* they should be going to begin with. That direction component is a huge part of a tech lead's responsibilities. This lesson teaches you:

- What it means to define good direction for a project
- The components behind effective direction-setting for a project
- How to decompose a goal into actionable items
- The ingredients behind empowering your team to work cohesively

To dive deeper into project management: [\[Taro Top 10\] Project Management](https://www.jointaro.com/playlist/4CtqCnUYwqedd0my2EEw/)

How To Be An Effective Tech Lead [Part 10] - Be An Excellent Communicator

One way to envision your role as a tech lead is that you're the "glue" that holds the team together. The core way that glue manifests is through your communication. This lesson teaches you:

- Why excellent communication is vital towards "conducting the orchestra"
- How to communicate empathetically
- How to communicate clearly
- The right amount to communicate (it's often higher than you think)

Turn yourself into a communication master with our course: [\[Course\] Effective Communication For Engineers](https://www.jointaro.com/course/effective-communication-for-engineers/)

How To Be An Effective Tech Lead [Part 9] - It's All About The Team

The best tech leads are selfless, not selfish. But what exactly does that mean? This lesson teaches you:

- The proper mindset to have as a tech **lead**
- A simple mental model to understand your overall goal as a tech leader
- How to divide up work as a tech lead
- What sort of tasks you should take on within a project as a tech lead

How To Be An Effective Tech Lead [Part 8] - Foster Technical Innovation

As a tech lead, your job isn't only to deliver what's on the table now but figure out what should be on the table in the future. This lesson teaches you:

- A classic mechanism to foster discussion around technical innovation
- The logistics behind brown bag sessions and how to run an effective one

How To Be An Effective Tech Lead [Part 7] - System Design Discussions

In order to build high-quality software, you need to go through the process of system design. As a tech lead, you are expected to play a major role in this process. This lesson teaches you:

- What to avoid when participating in system design meetings (i.e. how to not add negative value)
- The overall principles to be helpful in system design discussions
- How to make yourself better at system design through relationship building
- Tactics to provide better input in system design discussions, even if you're not incredibly familiar with the underlying domain

To learn how to write a stellar tech review doc: [\[Course\] System Design Masterclass: Shipping Real Features To Production](https://www.jointaro.com/course/frontend-system-design-masterclass-building-playlists/)

How To Be An Effective Tech Lead [Part 6] - Be The Code Guardian

As a tech lead, you are ultimately responsible for all the code that is delivered. The tricky part is that you need to do this without simply writing all of it. This lesson teaches you:

- The role tech leads play when it comes to cleaning up the code and paying down tech debt
- A high-level, multiplicative lever tech leads should pull to enforce code quality
- The in-the-weeds tactic tech leads need to constantly use to keep code quality high

To get better at code reviews, particularly those outside of your immediate domain, read through this: ["How to give better code reviews without full business context?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/vio35mw1SYWM8AYojB2w/how-to-give-better-code-reviews-without-full-business-context/)

How To Be An Effective Tech Lead [Part 5] - Think High-Level, Plan Long-Term

As a software engineer, it's way too easy to get lost in the weeds, fixating on details that ultimately don't matter. As a tech lead, you need to avoid rabbit holes like the plague. This lesson teaches you:

- The overall mindset tech leads must have when planning through and executing a project
- What it actually means to see the forest, not just the trees, with a detailed example from Jocelin's past
- How to own the overarching goal behind a project or workstream
- How to thoroughly think through dependencies

How To Be An Effective Tech Lead [Part 4] - Go Deep, Not Broad

In order to become a tech lead, you need to have incredibly effective technical skills. So what does that mean?

- What it takes for your technical skills to be respected as an engineer
- Why depth is more important than breadth
- What it means to have true technical depth, shown with an in-depth example

To sharpen your technical depth, take our code quality course: [\[Course\] Level Up Your Code Quality As A Software Engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/course/level-up-your-code-quality-as-a-software-engineer/)

Tech Career Growth Videos

Our instructional videos provide software engineers with insights needed for career growth. Masterclasses go incredibly in-depth on a specific tech topic while case studies are real examples from established engineering leaders.