Never thought I will regret getting promoted to a lead job
I have around 10 years of experience as a developer, and honestly, I genuinely enjoyed my work. I loved coding, solving complex problems, building things, and continuously learning. Of course, stress was always part of the job, but it felt manageable because I was doing something I was good at.
Things changed after I got promoted to a Lead Engineer role, specifically as a Frontend Lead responsible for Web, Android, and iOS platforms. Initially, I was leading a project I already knew well, so the transition felt challenging but still under control.
But recently, I was moved to a completely different project where the existing lead is leaving, and the situation is extremely chaotic. The project is going through a major migration, there’s no clear rollout or execution plan in place, and we have barely two months left to stabilize everything, handle issues, perform dry runs, and make the migration successful.
On top of that, new requirements keep getting added almost every day. I’m expected to prepare documentation, coordinate planning, and make decisions even when I myself am still trying to fully understand the system. That uncertainty is mentally exhausting.
The hardest part is that the team lacks ownership. Very few people proactively step up, which means a lot of responsibility and pressure ends up falling back on me. And somewhere in this process, I’ve started questioning myself.
I know I’m a strong developer. I’m confident in my technical abilities. But I’m beginning to wonder whether I’m actually suited for people management or leadership roles. The constant coordination, uncertainty, stakeholder pressure, and lack of structure are stressing me out every single day.
Sometimes I miss just being an individual contributor, focusing on engineering, solving technical challenges, and enjoying the work instead of constantly firefighting.
I’m now trying to understand:
- Is this phase normal when transitioning into leadership?
- Does everyone feel this overwhelmed initially?
- Or does this mean management simply isn’t the right path for me?
I also wonder what long-term options exist for someone like me who loves deep technical work but may not enjoy heavy people management. I understand I can’t remain just a developer forever, but I also don’t want to lose the part of the job that originally made me happy.