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Tech Lead Journal

Tech Lead Journal

Henry Suryawirawan 272 Episodes Oct 12, 2026

Great technical leadership requires more than just great coding skills. It requires a variety of other skills that are not well-defined, and they are not something that we can fully learn in any school or book. Hear from experienced technical leaders sharing their journey and philosophy for building great technical teams and achieving technical excellence. Find out what makes them great and how to apply those lessons to your work and team.

Episodes

Stop Being the Hero: How Developers Become Great Software Architects - Lee Atchison
Stop Being the Hero: How Developers Become Great Software Architects - Lee Atchison Oct 12, 2026 01:02:05 Why do the best developers often make the worst software architects? The skills that make someone a hero developer can become the habits that hold their team back once they move into architecture.In this episode, Lee Atchison, software architect and author of “The Software Conductor”, explains what changes when you move from writing code to leading through other people. He shares why he rewrote hi
The IT/OT Handbook: From Silos to Sustainable Digitalization - David Ariens & Willem van Lammeren
The IT/OT Handbook: From Silos to Sustainable Digitalization - David Ariens & Willem van Lammeren Sep 28, 2026 01:07:18 Why can’t you “move fast and break things” in a factory? Because a small software bug doesn’t just crash an app, it can shut down a plant the size of a small city. David and Willem explain the hidden world of operational technology, where safety always comes before speed.In this episode, David Ariens and Willem van Lammeren, co-authors of “The IT/OT Handbook” and hosts of the IT/OT Insider podcast
Don't Outsource Your Thinking: How to Lead in the AI-Native Era - Emilie Schario
Don't Outsource Your Thinking: How to Lead in the AI-Native Era - Emilie Schario Sep 7, 2026 00:59:03 What’s the one rule that matters most when AI writes most of your code? Emilie says it comes down to a single line: don’t outsource your thinking.In this episode, Emilie Schario, co-founder of Kilo Code, unpacks what it actually means to lead in a world where AI can write most of your code. She explains why Kilo went all-in on being model agnostic, supporting over 500 models instead of betting on
The Father of AI Assistant on Why Joy Comes Before Success - Kevin Surace
The Father of AI Assistant on Why Joy Comes Before Success - Kevin Surace Aug 24, 2026 00:55:32 If you’re not using AI five times an hour, you’re already behind, says the man who built the first AI assistant back in 1998. Kevin explains why that pace is now the baseline, not the exception, for developers who want to stay employed.In this episode, Kevin Surace, the inventor of the first AI assistant and CEO of Appvance, joins to unpack six decades of AI evolution, from hidden Markov models to
Software Engineering Laws Every Developer Must Know in the AI Era - Milan Milanovic
Software Engineering Laws Every Developer Must Know in the AI Era - Milan Milanovic Aug 10, 2026 01:01:36 Does moving faster with AI mean you get to skip the laws that governed every software project before it? Milan Milanovic argues the opposite, the old laws of software engineering now apply twice as hard.In this episode, Milan Milanovic, CTO and author of Laws of Software Engineering, returns to unpack why the laws that have quietly governed software projects for decades are more relevant than ever
Signals & Levers: Systems Thinking to Navigate Software Delivery Illusions - Elisabeth Hendrickson & Joel Tosi
Signals & Levers: Systems Thinking to Navigate Software Delivery Illusions - Elisabeth Hendrickson & Joel Tosi Aug 3, 2026 01:17:03 (04:48) Brought to you by SpeechifyAITired of text-to-speech that sounds robotic or costs too much at scale? SpeechifyAI's new Simba 3.2 model ranks #1 on Artificial Analysis for realness, priced under $10 per million characters. Building something conversational? Check out the Simba Voice Agents API for low-latency, natural back-and-forth interaction. Try it free at speechify.ai.Why do the same s
From Technical Debt to Triple Debt: The Hidden Cost of AI-Generated Code
From Technical Debt to Triple Debt: The Hidden Cost of AI-Generated Code Jul 27, 2026 01:10:41 Is vibe coding quietly draining the thing that makes teams effective: their shared understanding? Margaret breaks down her new “triple debt” model, and why cognitive debt might be the one nobody’s tracking.In this episode, Margaret-Anne Storey, co-author of the SPACE framework and a leading developer experience researcher, returns three years after her first appearance to unpack her new “triple de
Ex-Gojek CTO: Why the Age of AI Rewards Builders as Judgment Becomes Expensive
Ex-Gojek CTO: Why the Age of AI Rewards Builders as Judgment Becomes Expensive Jul 13, 2026 01:22:13 If expertise is becoming almost free, why is judgment becoming the most expensive skill in tech? Ajey Gore, former Gojek CTO, explains why the age of AI agents rewards builders over typists.In this episode, Ajey Gore, former Group CTO of Gojek and Operating Partner at Peak XV Partners, explains why coding agents are forcing software teams to rethink what “correct” really means. He argues that as e
The AI Productivity Paradox: Why 10X Output Doesn't Mean 10X Business Outcome
The AI Productivity Paradox: Why 10X Output Doesn't Mean 10X Business Outcome Jun 29, 2026 01:05:39 What if optimizing for AI output is actually slowing your company down? When code becomes nearly free to produce, the organizations still measuring productivity by output are solving the wrong problem.In this episode, Mik Kersten, author of “Project to Product” and the forthcoming “Output to Outcome,” shares why the real challenge of the AI era isn’t generating more code — it’s building organizati
The Hidden Stories Sabotaging Your Culture Change
The Hidden Stories Sabotaging Your Culture Change Jun 15, 2026 01:08:17 Why do 70% of change efforts fail — even when leadership is fully committed? The answer isn’t strategy or resources; it’s the hidden stories people unknowingly carry that silently block every initiative.In this episode, Ronica Roth, author of “Practice Makes Culture” and co-founder of The Welcome Elephant, shares a practical framework for creating lasting organizational change. Drawing on 25 years
Creator of Meta's Hack: Your AI Will Always Cheat — Here's How to Stop It
Creator of Meta's Hack: Your AI Will Always Cheat — Here's How to Stop It Jun 8, 2026 01:18:17 What if your AI coding agent is quietly cheating on your tests — and how do you stop it? Julien Verlaguet, who built the type system Meta used to migrate tens of millions of PHP lines, is now building Skipper: a closed-loop coding agent designed to make AI-generated code verifiably correct, without human intervention.In this episode, Julien Verlaguet, creator of the Hack programming language at Me
Eric Ries: Why Good Tech Companies Go Bad, and How to Stop It
Eric Ries: Why Good Tech Companies Go Bad, and How to Stop It Jun 1, 2026 01:00:12 Why do companies with the best intentions end up betraying their customers, employees, and mission? Eric Ries calls it “financial gravity” — an invisible force that pulls even the most principled companies toward corruption, and understanding it is the first step to resisting it.In this episode, Eric Ries, entrepreneur and author of The Lean Startup and Incorruptible, shares why building a great c

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