Reviews

I started my career, like Mariusz, as a subject matter expert. When my team grew by 1400%, I naturally became its leader. If I had had the opportunity to read Mariusz’s book back then, my early days of team management would have been much easier.

This book is a toolkit, API, and SDK for team management—a primer for leaders. Despite my years of experience, I will certainly keep coming back to it.

Zbigniew Kazior, Application Development Team Leader, NCR Poland

If you are an experienced leader (a supervisor, director, manager…) trained in a good, traditional school—put this book back on the shelf. Don’t open it, don’t read it, because you’ll find a catalog of mistakes you’ve been making throughout your career.

However, if you’re relatively early in your professional journey, pursuing your passion as a programmer, but have a vague sense that one day you’d like to become a team leader—grab this book and read it immediately. You’ll spend your time well and, in the process, learn things your more seasoned colleagues don’t know.

Maciej Koryl, Veteran Leader, Designer, and Programmer, Asseco

Life isn’t just about programming. Technical Leadership is a comprehensive guide to soft skills, offering something for everyone. An experienced leader who has successfully combined the roles of team manager and programmer for years will have the opportunity to enhance their toolkit and validate the accuracy of their life experiences and observations.

On the other hand, this book will protect a budding leader from crossing over to the “dark side” (so tempting when the colleague at the next desk suddenly becomes your subordinate). Another strength of Mariusz’s book is that the techniques and exercises presented are firmly rooted in the IT context, making them easy to understand and apply in daily work.

Rafał Osiecki, Chief Software Development Engineer, nazwa.pl

A few years ago, when I transitioned from the role of an expert to a manager (the role of a leader wasn’t even on the table yet), the dilemmas Mariusz describes in his book were my daily reality.
Balancing the role of an expert, a specialist, with that of a team mentor and someone responsible for its development is incredibly challenging. I was fortunate to meet people along the way who were going through this journey with me (or had already completed it) and helped me make difficult decisions. Difficult, because from the perspective of an expert focused on constant self-development, they often mean giving something up—sacrificing doing things just for yourself.
Unfortunately, not everyone has this kind of luck, and not every organization is willing to guide young leaders along this difficult path. That’s when a book like Technical Leadership by Mariusz becomes an excellent aid for tackling everyday struggles. Excellent because it’s full of practical examples and solutions that can be directly applied to your context. Excellent because it’s written by a practitioner who has walked this path—and you can feel it on almost every page.
With full confidence, I can say that Technical Leadership is a book I wish I had read three years ago, before my journey from expert to leader began.

Jakub Marchwicki, Independent Software Architect, CTO of DAC S.A.

Working as an agile coach, I’ve often encountered situations where an experienced programmer was faced with a completely new challenge—becoming a technical leader. These programmers quickly realized that their technical expertise wasn’t enough to meet this challenge.
Almost every such person repeated the same questions and concerns: How do I divide my time between technical and non-technical tasks? What happens if I fall behind my team technologically? How do I motivate people? What does it even mean to be a technical leader, and what am I supposed to do now?
I’ve seen Mariusz in action many times, and I know he has answers to these questions. Treat this book as a practical guide to your daily work on developing your team and yourself.

Michał Bartyzel, Author of Bespoke Software: How to Talk to Clients Who Don’t Know What They Want

This book introduces the reader to many topics and issues that play a crucial role in the proper development of a development team leader.
It will serve well those at the beginning of their management journey, those who want to learn what such a role entails, as well as those who want to organize and deepen their knowledge in this area. It is written in plain language and contains illustrations that help clarify the various concepts, making it truly easy and quick to read.

Wojciech Dul, Practice Manager, Sii Polska

This book is a true essential for a development team leader. The author clearly and concisely delivers knowledge and presents tools useful for both experienced team leaders and IT managers, as well as those just starting in such roles.

Tomasz Borycki, Development Team Manager, Grupa Pracuj

This book is a structured collection of advice for you as a technical leader, as well as a rich “user manual” for your team and the challenges and opportunities awaiting you.

Anna Pszczółkowska, Leader at Trapeze

A novel approach to coaching, knowledge of the specifics of a leader’s work, and experience in IT are three key aspects that accompany the reader from the very first pages of this book.

Mariusz Balewski, Informal Leader, Compensa

If you’re an expert and have decided to become an IT leader, this book will show you how to survive in your new role, understand it, and see its highs and lows.

Mirosław Stalkowski, Software Section Manager in a Power & Utilities Company

I approached Technical Leadership: From Expert to Leader with great interest. There are many books on the market about team management, but Mariusz Sieraczkiewicz’s book uniquely focuses on the challenges faced by programming team leaders. You’ll find plenty of advice and practical practices here that will make your life as a leader a bit easier. A must-read not only for beginners but also for experienced technical leaders.

Jakub Kustra, Programmer and Longtime Software Team Manager

Given the complexity of modern IT systems, it’s impossible to work on software without being part of a team. This book provides insights into viewing IT projects from a purely human perspective, fostering relationships that help achieve common goals while meeting the needs of individual members.
It’s packed with descriptions of techniques useful for everyday work, tested many times in practice. While presented from a leader’s perspective, I highly recommend it to team members as well—those wanting to understand the social processes in a project team or aspiring to become technical leaders.

Marcin Wiatr, IT Specialist and Software Engineer