The Work Behind the Work

For most of my software career, my output was something that was measurable and quantifiable. It was the code I wrote, bugs I made (and fixed), the documents I wrote. Everything was tangible.

Becoming a team lead changed that.

A lot of the tasks I do now are not tied to a direct outcome. It's clarifying requirements, giving information on a certain domain, or guidance on the peculiarities of a codebase, or making sure requirement ownership and relevant contacts are clear from the start. These actions are not closable tickets, they do not get tracked on a board.

The untrackable nature of these tasks means it can leave you feeling unproductive. As someone that's been an individual contributor for most of my career, that feeling is hard to get used to.

But what if these invisible tasks were not done? Well, things would slow down. Confusion would build, a simple decision could be lost in an endless list of unclear messages. Work that should be progressed wouldn't have.

I'm still learning, but I've started to let go of the instinct to quantify my output by the tangible deliverables at the end of a workday. Sometimes my work is not measurable, but it allows my team to move forward and to deliver their results.

It's a different type of accountability. Less visible, but bigger impact.