I worked at a government lab as an engineer about 30 years ago in a "matrix" system where I had two bosses, one who managed only the direct project engineering and the other which managed employee stuff and how resources get allocated across projects.
Very confusing.
I personally believe leading devs when you have no formal authority is one of the hardest jobs in tech.
Tech leads and other ICs leading have high expectations, but low formal authority and bridging that gap is genuinely difficult.
It's much faster to reach compliance by leading with authority, but that's all it will ever be. Tech leads and ICs do not have that unspoken reality; they must lead with influence. And leading with influence is much harder than leading with authority.
I worked at a government lab as an engineer about 30 years ago in a "matrix" system where I had two bosses, one who managed only the direct project engineering and the other which managed employee stuff and how resources get allocated across projects. Very confusing.
A purposeful separation of concerns based on skill or just people being silly sausages?
I personally believe leading devs when you have no formal authority is one of the hardest jobs in tech.
Tech leads and other ICs leading have high expectations, but low formal authority and bridging that gap is genuinely difficult.
It's much faster to reach compliance by leading with authority, but that's all it will ever be. Tech leads and ICs do not have that unspoken reality; they must lead with influence. And leading with influence is much harder than leading with authority.