First of all you need to figure out if you're a "tech lead" (informal title, no reports or authority) or a "dev lead" (formal title, with reports and authority).
As a former Google tech lead (and I know this sounds like a YouTube parody): my advice is don't be a "tech lead" for long. Either be a dev or move into management. Make up your mind. Google "tech lead" is defined above.
As a tech lead in such informal position, you'll end up doing 2 jobs and you'll eventually find that the level of effort required is not commensurate with compensation. You can make much more and have a faster career progression as a manager. You can make the same money with less effort and headache as a dev. Your IC career won't move any faster just because you're a "tech lead", indeed the opposite could be true, because now a non-trivial fraction of your productive capacity is taken up by intangibles which are very difficult for an IC to articulate the value of come performance review time. Being a tech lead makes no logical sense whatsoever, at least not at Google, unless you're aiming for a manager position in the near future, and you need to demonstrate your "leadership qualities".
Other companies may differ, of course, but I bet it's like that at most places that have "tech" leads. In contrast, at Microsoft there's "dev lead", not "tech", and it's a frontline manager position, with reports and authority, and with the aim to move upwards on the management ladder.
Google-like informal "tech lead" is not even a title, it's just a SWE too stupid to understand that they're basically doing more valuable work, and more of it, for the same money.
Exactly what happened to me, then I read the Gervais principle and reduced all my stress by leaving for a new role 'just' being a dev instead of tech lead
As a former Google tech lead (and I know this sounds like a YouTube parody): my advice is don't be a "tech lead" for long. Either be a dev or move into management. Make up your mind. Google "tech lead" is defined above.
As a tech lead in such informal position, you'll end up doing 2 jobs and you'll eventually find that the level of effort required is not commensurate with compensation. You can make much more and have a faster career progression as a manager. You can make the same money with less effort and headache as a dev. Your IC career won't move any faster just because you're a "tech lead", indeed the opposite could be true, because now a non-trivial fraction of your productive capacity is taken up by intangibles which are very difficult for an IC to articulate the value of come performance review time. Being a tech lead makes no logical sense whatsoever, at least not at Google, unless you're aiming for a manager position in the near future, and you need to demonstrate your "leadership qualities".
Other companies may differ, of course, but I bet it's like that at most places that have "tech" leads. In contrast, at Microsoft there's "dev lead", not "tech", and it's a frontline manager position, with reports and authority, and with the aim to move upwards on the management ladder.
Google-like informal "tech lead" is not even a title, it's just a SWE too stupid to understand that they're basically doing more valuable work, and more of it, for the same money.