You can be a great leader without being a great coder and you can absolutely be a great coder without being a good leader. The two things don’t’ always go hand in hand, but neither are they mutually exclusive.
Being a lead developer on a tech team is a huge responsibility and it is one that can be a little time consuming. It can also be culture shock if you are accustomed to just coding and nothing more.
If you want to be a lead coder and work on the team as both a coder and a leader, the first question is why? What does it have to offer you? More money, more prestige or the ability to be in charge. It’s a position that can be really difficult to handle. Knowing why you want it is the best way to ensure that you’re going to be good at it.
Now examine your leadership skills. What do you need to know before you ‘ll be ready to attack this task and do it correctly? Do you feel that you’re ready both in a leadership way as well as in a coding way? What is the purpose for being the lead coder?
If you’re all about the power then the odds are good that you’re not going to like being a lead developer and you’re not going to be good at it. If, on the other hand, you love coding and you don’t like being interrupted when you are doing that, then again, you’re not going to love the job.
Being a lead developer is all about having the right skills to code while having the right skills to lead. Both of those things can be developed even if you were not born with them.