The Bench Warmer

My boyfriend explained my promotion using basketball.

There's a bench warmer. Not in the starting five. Plays only when someone gets injured. And sometimes, given that chance, they become better than the one they replaced.

He meant it as encouragement. I kept thinking about the bench warmer who didn't know they were good.

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I became Squad Lead two months ago. Small team. New responsibility. No manual.

As a dev, the job is clear: ship the thing. Done or not done.

As a lead, the job is: which things are worth shipping at all. And which requests to protect your team from.

That question doesn't have a clean answer. Nobody tells you when you got it right.

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First retro as lead. Clean backlog. First time in three cycles.

Two of my team said: it's also thanks to you. That the whole team plays better.

The bench warmer scored. And so did the team.

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Good news: I found a mentor. Someone who has been there and wants to help me get there too.

I needed that. Not someone to give me answers, but someone to help me play the best I can. The bench warmer doesn't become a starter alone.

That matters more than I expected.