Leadership

Rescuing the Teacher in Me: Inspired by a Tech Lead Who Builds Others

Rediscover your inner teacher through inspired leadership—learn how great tech leads create space for others to grow, and why sharing what you struggle with creates the most powerful learning

This is Part 6 of 7 in the Life in Porto Alegre series.

Some people are made to do more than just write code or manage deliverables. Some people are builders of builders. They show up in meetings, pull requests, and Slack threads not just to check tasks off a list — but to help others become their best versions. Marcelo Schmidt is one of those people.

Since I joined Stefanini/Dell, I’ve had the privilege of watching Schmidt grow tremendously as a technical leader. He creates space — and then protects that space — for engineers to try, fail, teach, reflect, and improve. He doesn’t speak at conferences but he inspires people to believe they can do it.

Collaborative learning environment

The Part of Me That Went Standby

For a while, I had put that part of me — the one that loves to teach — on pause. Life had taken me elsewhere: moving cities, adjusting to new stacks, new roles, family health crises. But watching Marcelo build knowledge-sharing environments from the inside, with care and intent, made me realize something:

That part of me was still there. And it wasn’t lost. It was just waiting for the right kind of permission and push. And Marcelo, without even trying, gave me both.

How to Start Sharing Again

You don’t need to be an expert. You just need to notice what you repeat, what you debug five times a week, what you explain every other sprint. Those are your best sessions — because they’re the closest to your everyday work.

Here’s how I’ve been nudging myself back into sharing:

  • ✏️ Start a dev log: At the end of the day, jot down what was hard and how you solved it.
  • 🧪 Refactor problems into examples: That recursive API bug? Great for a 10-minute brown bag.
  • 🧭 Create just-in-time content: Got a teammate stuck? Solve it, document it, and post it.
  • 💬 Encourage debates: Start with “I’m not sure if this is the best way…” — and let the learning flow.
# Quick start content seed template
Title: How we refactored our OSB mappings
Why: recurring issue in onboarding
Outcome: new internal doc + onboarding session

Teach What You’re Living

You’ll find the most powerful learning in the things you struggle with and solve in real time. Don’t wait until you’re an “expert.” Write or speak while it’s still messy. It makes you more honest, and it gives others a clearer path to follow.

def teachable_moment(problem, solution):
    if problem.is_recent() and solution.is_fresh():
        return share_with_team(problem, solution)

A Tribute and a Reminder

Schmidt, thank you. For making the space. For holding the space. For showing how leadership in tech isn’t about knowing more — it’s about lifting more.

And for everyone else reading this: if you’ve put your teacher-self on pause, maybe it’s time to hit resume. The next voice someone needs might be yours.

Let’s keep building.

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Complete series: Life in Porto Alegre Series