Team Leads - Fed Edition
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Anonymous
| Curious question from a relative newcomer to the govt arena. I have noticed some agencies employee "Team Lead" roles in a number of ways. My current agency formally hires the leads through a formal application process. However, the previous agency I worked at simply allowed the supv to "appoint" Team Leads. Is there a hard and fast rule for bringing on team leads? Can they just be nominated/appointed? Does it depend on the agency? |
Anonymous
| In my office there is no formal process..it is generally just the most senior person or rotates between several senior people. |
Anonymous
| At my agency, the team leaders are 14s. So, yes, there is a formal competitive application process. |
Anonymous
| In my agency, team leads are often the senior individual contributors who map out projects and handle day to day tasking of the team. They aren't supervisory and handle no HR stuff. The supervisors take care of all the HR and manage up through the chain of command. |
Anonymous
| In my office we’ve done it both ways. I think they tend to do it by application because it seems fairer. |
Anonymous
| At my agency it’s informal. And it’s also a terrible job, because team leads are responsible for outcomes but have no supervisory authority. I have been trying to get rid on them on my team and replace them with supervisory GS-15s and SES. |
Anonymous
| Team Lead here (sometimes) and I am a GS-12. I prefer not to be in charge of assignments. |
Anonymous
| At my office they are non supervisory 15s (vs staff 14s) so it is a very competitive application process. As a PP said, though, it is a tough job because you have responsibility without authority. You do most of the same grunt work as first line supervisors - feedback, scheduling, input to performance reviews - plus the special projects or sensitive matters that a senior IC would do. |
Anonymous
| In my office (because it’s not standard across my agency) it used to be a specific GS-14 position description. They just removed the word “lead” from the job title, but people are still 14s (which are rare) and still have the same job duties. |
Anonymous
Same. |
Anonymous
SAME. I supervise a team lead and it’s impossible. She has no real authority but someone made her the “lead” many years ago. Hard to hold her accountable if she’s not really a supervisor. |
Anonymous
| TL seems like the worst job. You need deep subject matter expertise on every project and also often have to do your own IC work and then also keep everybody else on track. |
Anonymous
It's a little amazing. Not government, I get paid what a director gets paid (160K). I get to decide how we do our work. I get to influence who gets assigned to work. I get to drive projects. I do not have to deal with the dog ate my homework. If you are not performing I work around you to get the project done. I can use levels of personal influence that a supervisor/manager can't. I fought hard for my last promotion that will max me out at 200K and I will never look back. I am not building an empire, and it's a different kind of politics to manage that has great benefits. I'm never on the block for layoffs, to date, because I work well with everyone and Get Sh&t Done. |
Anonymous
| I am already an informal lead at my agency. I guess the higher ups are planning on implementing formal treat lead positions, which will be advertised. So technically, some fool off the street can come in and take over what I have built up over the past three years. |
Anonymous
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I plan on making my best GS 13 my deputy and team lead. It won’t change anything really in their job description and definitely not pay.
I’ve never seen a team lead advertised. People like those jobs because they prepare you to move up. |