This is exactly how we are treating Tech Debt in my team.
I have managed several teams in several companies now, one common complain I often hear from developers is the burden of Tech Debt. It always goes in the lines of: we have too much debt, we are not allowed to fix it, we are expected to go full speed ahead with new work only.
In my new team I never hear such complains, why? because we empower the team to do what you just described. That's all it takes
This is exactly how we are treating Tech Debt in my team.
I have managed several teams in several companies now, one common complain I often hear from developers is the burden of Tech Debt. It always goes in the lines of: we have too much debt, we are not allowed to fix it, we are expected to go full speed ahead with new work only.
In my new team I never hear such complains, why? because we empower the team to do what you just described. That's all it takes
In the end a lot of it is about trust between developers and stakeholders/managers. This visibility and process then helps create the required trust.
Glad to hear you found the same in your team!