Sometimes the interests of the TL contradict the interests of the EM. Circumstances like those are usually brought on by strong budget or roadmap constraints.

Sometimes the interests of the TL contradict the interests of the EM. Circumstances like those are usually brought on by strong budget or roadmap constraints. Usually, people in your position will systematically wear one hat at the expense of the other, leading to long-term retention or code quality problems. It's a delicate balancing act, that isn't easy for most people to pull off. It's not impossible, I've seen it done well. But it's a lot easier when "times are good", and you are not consistently tested by hard decisions where the EM and TL hats would disagree.