We are all aspirational. The same applies to a team of developers. Most want to work on shiny things, technologies, and features. But the sad reality is that a customer gives a flying fuck happening under the hood.
They need a product which should behave/work as promised. They are paying and using it.
It creates some a challenge within the organization and the balance between teams. One team promised time to deliver a feature, another toyed with shiny language or framework, and another fought with angry customers.
As a leader, you have to make a balance and ensure everyone’s expectations and aspirations are well met.
We have to manage technical debt to runway to customer support. It is the leader’s role, and we have to do it.
But the priority should always be solving customers’ pain for which they pay.