# How I select and grow technical leaders
Source: https://manaienko.com/how-i-work/selecting-technical-leaders/
Author: Artem Manaienko

The strongest engineer is not automatically the right lead. I give candidates real work with a team and watch how they delegate, take responsibility and communicate. Wider leadership needs the same practical preparation.

## My principles

07 operating rules

1.  [01 Try the responsibility before the promotion](#practice-selecting-technical-leaders-principle-1)
2.  [02 Watch how they delegate](#practice-selecting-technical-leaders-principle-2)
3.  [03 Start with technical trust](#practice-selecting-technical-leaders-principle-3)
4.  [04 Put more weight on observed work](#practice-selecting-technical-leaders-principle-4)
5.  [05 Correct a bad hire early](#practice-selecting-technical-leaders-principle-5)
6.  [06 Prepare successors through real decisions](#practice-selecting-technical-leaders-principle-6)
7.  [07 Define the trial criteria in advance](#practice-selecting-technical-leaders-principle-7)

### Try the responsibility before the promotion

With an internal candidate, I give them a small team and real work, then stay out of execution. I can observe how they lead before making the appointment.

### Watch how they delegate

I look at whether they distribute the work or absorb it themselves. Doing everything personally can make the strongest engineer a bottleneck for the team.

### Start with technical trust

The team needs to respect a lead's technical judgment. Beyond that, I look for motivation to lead, ownership, delegation and communication. Technical reputation alone does not show those things.

### Put more weight on observed work

I hired someone who interviewed well but showed little ownership in the role. I now put more weight on what a candidate does with real responsibility than on interview performance.

### Correct a bad hire early

When a lead's low ownership starts hurting the team, delaying the decision adds to the damage. I need to correct my own hiring mistake rather than leave the team carrying it.

### Prepare successors through real decisions

I delegate decisions outside a lead's own function before a broader role opens up. Product, infrastructure and organisational context prepare them to take over with experience already behind them.

### Define the trial criteria in advance

I worked this out through a good choice and a bad hire. Next time I would agree what the trial needs to demonstrate before choosing a candidate, and collect structured team feedback.

## The decisions I learned from

03 cases

-   ### Giving a candidate a team to lead

    **Case:** I had two internal candidates. One was the strongest architect. The other had less technical authority, but was more proactive and easier for the team to communicate with.

    **My decision:** I gave the second candidate two engineers and a complex feature, then stayed out of the execution. I wanted to see whether he could organise the work through the team.

    **Result:** He delegated, delivered the feature and earned the team's acceptance. I appointed him lead after seeing him do the work.

-   ### Replacing a lead I had hired

    **Case:** An external lead interviewed very well. After joining, he showed little ownership and started demotivating the team. I had made the wrong call.

    **My decision:** I dismissed him and promoted an internal engineer. She had less formal leadership experience, but the team already respected her.

    **Result:** She became a strong lead. That experience made me much more careful about how much confidence I put in an interview.

-   ### Helping a team lead take over from me

    **Case:** I wanted someone ready to run engineering before I left. A team lead needed experience making decisions beyond his own function.

    **My decision:** I brought him into product statistics, infrastructure, architecture and organisational decisions, and gradually delegated more of that work. He became my informal deputy.

    **Result:** He became Head of Engineering before I left, and later CEO after other leaders departed. I had prepared him for broader engineering responsibility; the later CEO appointment was a separate decision.