Ever feel like you just climbed out of a deep hole with a hundred alligators chasing you? Your daily tasks remain unfinished, everyone else’s work is blocked and waiting on you, your teammates are moving slowly because you didn’t give them enough guidance, and the project manager comes by just to check and throw blame before leaving.
If you’ve felt that way — maybe we’re on the same ship, heading to a better island built for leaders.
After five years working on a long-term project, I was assigned to a new one. New teammates. New project manager. Everyone moves like The Flash — faster than I’ve ever seen. It made me feel like I’d been standing still for five years, with no real growth.
But then I thought — maybe I should slow down and observe. Are they going in the right direction or the wrong one? Who really knows?
This new project is a rush — with the worst documentation, chaotic management, and complex integration with external vendors.
As the Tech Lead, I guide the backend team and ensure they can complete their work. But some people expect the Tech Lead to micro-manage developers — even to the point of reporting who’s doing what at each daily standup.
Why can’t developers take ownership and report for themselves?
Every day, we read specs that are written in a single vague sentence. I constantly meet with the BA to figure things out and clarify the requirements.
After explaining, developers can begin coding. But a few days later, problems pop up — a developer tells me they’re blocked, and when I review the situation, I realize the solution changed in a meeting I wasn’t even part of.
This happens a lot — back-and-forth meetings between frontend and backend, just to understand what that “one line” really meant.
After I messaged upper management about the issues, I noticed some bad attitudes coming from the middle layer. In meetings, sometimes I feel like I get cut off when I speak — even with the upper management.
I don’t know if my feelings are right or wrong, but I hope it’s just a misunderstanding.
Then one day, the middle layer met with me and challenged everything — saying I was the problem, that I didn’t know how to work, that every issue was my fault.
Even reviewing developers’ code? They said that wasn’t my job.
The past two weeks were tough. But now, things are improving. I found my own way to stay steady and focused:
- If something goes wrong, just go again.
- If a bug happens, just fix it.
- If something’s missing, just add it to the list.
- Just listen.
- Stay silent when needed.
- If you feel something can be better — go do it.
At the end of the day, everyone wants the project to be a success. I’ve been working with 101% energy, and I’m open to learning more through every experience. That’s why I’m writing this — Resetting the Clock: Embracing Growth Through Discomfort.
Coi công ty như một chiến quốc, lập trình viên như những chiến binh, mỗi dự án như một trận chiến, có chiến thắng thì công ty mới giàu mạnh, lương mới tăng thưởng mới có.
Lap Pham
ChatGPT helped improve my blog—here’s the original version.
Ever you feel like just climbed on from a deep hole with hundred of alligator behind, because your tasks did not finished every day, everyone’s tasks has been blocked and waiting for you, your team mate work slow because you did not give them enough guide, the project manager come, check and go with their blaming. If you say yes I think we are on the same ship going to a good island for the Leader.
After five year worked for one long term project, I have assigned to new one. With new team mate, new project manager. Every one working like The Flash I never saw before so I feel 5 years stand by and no improvement. but slow down a bit, they go right way or wrong way, who knows?
The RUSH software project with a worst documents, worst management process and complicated integration with some vendor outside. As a Tech Lead, I guide the backend team, make sure they can complete the tasks. Someone expected the Teach Lead need to manage their developers, they expect the Tech Lead need to present who are working on which tasks each daily standup meeting. Why developer don’t do that for them self?
Every day, developer read the documents, each feature written in “one line”. I need to meet the BA guy to find the solution, make the requirement more clearly. After explain, the developer can do coding but the problem happen after some day, developer come and say to me he have a big issue cannot resolve, after review I see the solution is changed during some meeting between them that I did not join. Many times backend/frontend developer meeting together to make the “one line” more clearly. Back and fort happen.
After some direct message to “BOSSest” to talk about the problem, some not good attitude came to me from middle layer. In the meeting sometime “sh*” stop my voice when I’m saying with the “BOSSest”. I don’t know my feeling is right or wrong about that may be and hope it is a misunderstanding.
One day, the middle layer meet and challenge me as I am the one who don’t know how to work, every problem happen because of my mistake, even review code of developer, with them is not my job.
Last two week is not easy but now every thing better, I found a way to arrange everything:
Go wrong, just go again
Bug happen, just fix it
Miss something, just add to do
Just hear
Keep silence
Feel something should be better, just do it
Lastly, everyone’s purpose just make the project finish successfuly, I am working with 101% ennegy per day this week and willing to receive more experience. That is reason why I write “Resetting the Clock: Embracing Growth Through Discomfort”.