A Day In The Life Of A Technical Team Lead

Harekrishna (Harry) Mishra started his career back in India in 2010 as a Software Developer working with Java, Spring, Hibernate, and many other technologies. Harry has spent 12 years in IT. After a few initial years, he moved to Salesforce CRM and was involved in integration projects. As a Technical Lead, Harry works with the development team to fix and create products that enable companies to scale. He primarily works on complex technical designs, proof of concepts, and code reviews. He meets with businesses to make sure everything is in place and is responsible for implementing the best standards and practices within the project throughout the team. 

Continue reading to learn more about Harry Mishra and his work at Groundswell.

How long have you been with Groundswell?

It’s been an excellent 3+ years at Groundswell, and I have enjoyed each & every moment of being a part of this company. There is so much to learn at Groundswell, and I have the opportunity to grow alongside great and talented minds.

What do you like most about what you do? What do you like most about being a Team Lead? 

As a Technical Lead, I enjoy helping our clients build scalable products and ensure the Go-Live is seamless, which can impact millions of partners & customers. I like working on complex challenges and building innovative solutions. I believe in “Nothing is permanent in this world, not even your problems.”

As a Team Leader, I motivate and mentor my team and help them grow by realizing their inner potential. I truly believe that as a People Leader, it is necessary to be true to yourself and bring compassion and empathy to every situation. I value “cognitive, emotional and compassionate empathy.”

What does a day in your life look like?

8 – 10:30 AM  – My day starts with a cup of ginger tea (chai) followed by daily stand-up calls and Development meetings. As a Technical Lead, I understand the issues that the Dev Team faces, brainstorm and help them by providing the right approach and solution, and be proactive in guiding the team to complete the features/tickets efficiently. It might be a bug, test class failure, deployment failures or new features approach, or any technical challenges faced by the team.

10:30 AM – I usually take a break for a few minutes and spend some time with my child, whom I call my little king, Reyaan. 

11 – 2 PM – During this time, I will have meetings with other team leads to determine priorities for any deployments. I will often meet with the Business Team to understand more about the new or existing requirements and work on POC’s and technical designs. I usually find some time for lunch here as well.

2 – 2.30 PM – I take a quick break from meetings and spend time with our little king, giving my wife (Saumya) a break. 

2:30 – 5 PM – The late afternoon is usually spent in 1:1’s with my team members as I also play the role of a Team Lead.

I will also work on pending tech design items and proof of concepts. After, I have a quick touch-base with Devs to see if they are blocked on anything. I spend time producing a standard plan of action for various tasks the team might need to perform. During the afternoon, I will also carve time out for innovation and creativity. I do a quick check in the #technical #development slack channels to answer questions and collaborate with the broader Groundswell team. 
 

5 – 5:15 PM – At the end of the day, I plan out the priorities for the following day, set up to-do tasks and reminders, and complete timecards.

How is your work-life different now that we are a hybrid workplace?

Hybrid work is the best – it is the new normal. I feel I am more productive and save a lot of time by avoiding daily commutes. Now that we are hybrid, I have a better work-life balance with more flexibility, and I can spend more time with loved ones. At the same time, I still get time to meet colleagues on a Friday at the office or company events like our recent boat cruise party.

Have you grown during your time here?

There is so much to learn here. GS is full of talented people who solve complex problems and build innovative solutions. In my last project, I led a team of 15 Development team members and was responsible for the smooth functioning of the project. It was a successful Go-Live across multiple markets. It’s always great to work with like-minded people who strive for success. We have so many technical slack channels to help you out if you are stuck with a problem. I really love working at Groundswell.

How did you come to choose this career path?  

I started my career in 2010 working in Java, Spring, Hibernate, JSP, and EJB. A few years later, I started working on an Integration project involving Java and Salesforce. The turning point was when I decided to select Salesforce as my career path due to many factors; It was on the cloud and facilitated out-of-the-box solutions. As I was good at Java programming, it wasn’t difficult for me to cross-train to Salesforce.
Do you have any advice for those entering your field?

To become a Technical Lead, you need to have an excellent grasp of the technical aspects of the job, and a background in development is required. You’ll need to maintain high standards of coding, have the ability to adapt to new technologies quickly, integrate new software, and apply changes with minimal liabilities. So, knowing the ins and outs of the software are all prerequisites for an effective tech lead.

What are your favorite things to do in your spare time when you are out of the office?

 I like to listen to music, watch movies on Netflix, and eat out. I also enjoy watching reels on Instagram and looking for new technology updates on Linkedin as well. I love to grow my network in different social apps. Currently, I have around 20k+ Linkedin connections!