Evaluating Technical Leadership Performance Beyond Code Metrics
Designed for Senior engineering team leads newly promoted to technical leadership roles, responsible for both technical outcomes and team development in fast-scaling product companies. to spark real collaboration and high-energy learning.
A 90-minute, in-person workshop for newly promoted technical leaders. Participants are used to being judged by code quality and delivery speed, but now face increasing ambiguity in how their leadership is evaluated. Many express frustration that their most valuable work—mentoring, roadmap shaping, stakeholder management—is not 'visible' in traditional metrics.
The Invisible Wins Gallery
Invite participants to walk around the room and find sticky notes with descriptions of non-code leadership achievements (e.g., 'Unblocked a cross-team dependency', 'Mentored a junior dev through conflict'). Ask them to guess which roles or situations these stemmed from, sparking curiosity about the hidden facets of leadership.
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Why this works
By surfacing real examples, you ignite curiosity about the breadth of technical leadership and plant the seed that impact extends beyond code.
Metric Myths Busted
Present three commonly held beliefs about technical leadership metrics, such as 'Good leaders always have the fewest open bugs' or 'Velocity equals team health.' Ask participants to vote on which statements they believe to be true.
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Why this works
This surfaces underlying beliefs, exposing misconceptions and catalyzing a shift in mindset.
Low-Stakes Leadership Bingo
Hand out bingo cards with squares representing non-code-based leadership acts (e.g., 'Diffused a team disagreement', 'Advocated for technical debt paydown'). As you call examples, participants mark what they’ve done in the past month—no explanations needed.
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Why this works
This creates gentle, judgment-free participation and helps normalize diverse leadership contributions.
Leadership in Motion Charades
Split participants into two teams. One team acts out scenarios of impactful leadership (e.g., resolving a team conflict, influencing a product pivot), without using words or code references. The other team guesses the leadership quality or act displayed.
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Why this works
This energizes the room, brings leadership behaviors to life, and cements retention through embodied learning.
Promotion Panel Hot Seat
Present a real-world dilemma: A high-performing engineer is up for promotion, but their ‘impact’ is all technical delivery; meanwhile, another candidate is a behind-the-scenes mentor with less code output. In small groups, participants must debate whom to promote, citing concrete evidence and potential future impact.
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Why this works
This anchors the content in real dilemmas, challenging participants to apply new evaluation frameworks under pressure.
Your Leadership Radar
Invite each participant to draw a quick ‘leadership radar’—a spider diagram with axes like Mentoring, Stakeholder Influence, Conflict Resolution, Vision. Individuals plot where they believe their greatest non-code impact has been in the last quarter, then share one insight with a partner.
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Why this works
Active reflection personalizes the learning, enabling lasting insight and self-directed growth.
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