Can you go back to being an individual contributor after leading a team?

I once worked with an engineering team lead in a #tech scale-up who, after three successful years leading a team, decided to pivot back into a DevOps role.

He cared deeply about his people, but he missed building things. The more his leadership responsibilities grew, the further he drifted from hands-on technical #work.

And like many first-time leaders, he had no real mentorship or formal training - he was simply “the most senior engineer” and his still young start-up at the time needed him to step up.

His story isn’t unusual. Many professionals find themselves on the leadership path because it’s the only visible way up. But it’s not the only way forward.

So, can you go back to an individual contributor role after leading people? Yes. The harder question is: should you?

Did You Choose Your Career Path or Did It Choose You?

When you choose a direction, you grow a specific set of muscles.

💻 The expert path deepens technical mastery.

🤝 The people leader path builds influence, empathy, and strategy.

Both are valuable. The real challenge comes when you realize your current direction no longer fits your strengths, satisfaction, or stage of life.

The Fear of “Stepping Back”

Many leaders stay in #management not because they love it, but because they fear how “stepping back” will look. Whether you made the deliberate choice to be in a leadership position or you just happened to be “in the right place at the right time”, your #career does not have to be a straight line.

Returning to individual contribution isn’t necessarily regression. It’s recalibration.

And often, the best ICs are those who’ve led before. They bring empathy, systems thinking, and cross-functional perspective that pure specialists rarely develop.

Five Critical Factors to Consider

If you’re a leader wrestling with the idea of returning to an IC role, there are 5 factors you need to take into consideration:

1. Clarity of motivation

2. Skill alignment

3. Market relevance

4. Financial trade-offs

5. Career story

   
   

Reflection exercise: Have a look at the assessment scorecard I have included below this post.

The Question That Matters Most

If you’ve been wondering whether leadership still fits, take a moment to ask yourself: what would you choose right now if you stopped worrying about “optics”?

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🌟 Sparking Leadership #22: a weekly series on human-centered, sustainable #leadership. Follow for real talk and practical tools. In the meantime, lead with spark!