No More Tech Heros

Transcript

1. NO MORE TECH HEROES We don’t need heroes. We need people we can rely on. ZİKRİYE ÜRKMEZ ANTALYA IWD 2025
2. ABOUT ME 10+ years experience Cross functional team management Sustainable productivity Great tech culture building Special interest on the technical side is Domain Driven Design zikriyeurkmez@gmail.com
3. Does This Culture Sound Familiar? 🎉 Big shoutout to James for fixing prod while on vacation! 🙌 Helen delivered the feature in half the time — incredible! 💪 Dan jumped in and solved it again last night. Legend! Everyday praise — or signs of something deeper?
4. What Hero Culture Really Looks Like It looks impressive — but it smells like chaos. Work illustrations by Storyset Constant reactivity No planning or clear ownership Moving targets all the time Delivery without quality or structure People jumping in, burning out, leaving fast
5. Burnout Hero culture doesn’t scale — it breaks people first. The Real Cost of Hero Culture Knowledge hoarding Operational fragility Isolation & inequality Addiction to being the savior Office gossip
6. Why Is Hero Culture So Attractive? Fast growth needs fast fixes Fight, flight or freeze — heroes choose fight Visibility beats sustainability Chaos makes heroes look necessary Systems are invisible — heroics are loud
7. In the age of AI, your heroes are not your greatest risk — losing your thinkers is. What This Matters *Now*? AI creates urgency & uncertainty Domain knowledge is now strategic value Hero culture pushes these people away And they leave — mentally first, then literally. Those who understand both the tech and the business are the new core asset. Organizations act like startups again — rushing, confused, and reactive.
8. The Organizational Alternative: Build Process, Not Dependency Good systems don’t rely on good people — they empower them. Leadership must own it : This shift starts from the top — not the bottom. Document and standardize: Critical knowledge should live in systems, not in heads. Celebrate team wins: Reward collaboration over individual fire-fighting. Make knowledge sharing a habit: Internal trainings, onboarding guides, and open documentation. Turn heroes into mentors: Don’t erase them — evolve them
9. The Individual Alternative: Become a Go-To Person You don’t need to be everywhere. Just be dependable somewhere. 🎯 Own a domain: Be the person others trust on one topic — not everything. 📚 Share what you know: Document, teach, mentor. Visibility comes from value. 🤝 Be helpful, not heroic: Support others without being the savior. 📡 Be predictable & available: Show up reliably, not dramatically.
10. Technology People Expectation Reality 0 20 40 60 80 100 collaboration and alignment to effectively deliver solutions working in isolation and making decisions with just one person cause a lot more harm all of the future changes would depend just on that person. Engineering is one of the most collaborative fields out there
11. DON’T get religious about technology every technology was at one time good or even considered great. dogmatic beliefs tends to be quite inflammatory The real point here is to not limit your options. you can't grow in an environment where you already know the answers no solution or technology is completely right or wrong It's easier to be open to other opinions if you accept how little you know
12. opportunities Skills alone are not enough, make sure to focus on the how people perceive you! credibility very credible people have countless opportunities HOW TO BUILD CREDIBILITY ? be reliable admit mistakes focus on predictability, stability and consistency take ownership and responsibility be proactive do exactly what you say and agree upon focus on good communication focus on building good relationships focus on building your personal brand Credibility in the engineering industry
13. Join the conversation at Codewarts Newsletter. 🧠 Insights on software culture, code quality, and leadership Thanks! Keep Thinking, Keep Building