Read Lauren’s story here.
What strategies have you found most effective for balancing continuous learning with the demands of your day-to-day role as a software developer and manager?
- Protect and prioritise your learning time, it’s your own responsibility to manage your time and use it to benefit you.
- Find something that helps your development and you enjoy doing.
- Shout up about what you want to learn – the more people that know about what you want to do, the better chance you’ll get the opportunities.
How did seeking out mentors and leadership training shape your career trajectory, and what advice would you give to someone looking to do the same?
Talking to mentors and attending training sessions has played a huge part in my career success so far. Learning the theory of leadership in training and having someone to reflect on the practical application with has given me confidence to face challenges.
Advice on finding a mentor
- Look for someone across the business that handles situations in a way you would like to.
- Choose someone who is doing a role you aspire to do.
- Don’t just stay within your department, lean on your network to find people in the wider business.
- Find someone who will tell you the truth and challenge the way you think.
Advice on making the most out of training
- Don’t do training for the sake of doing it – it shouldn’t be a tick-box exercise.
- Sign up for training for the role you want to do, not necessarily the role you are doing now.
- Keep in touch with people who are on the training courses with you / have also done it. Most of your learning will come from reflection and hearing other people’s thoughts.
What are some unexpected lessons you’ve learned during your journey from software developer to software engineering manager?
- If someone has a different opinion from you, understand what information they are using to inform that opinion. It’s easy to get defensive when challenged, but showing humility and curiosity will benefit yourself and the people around you much more.
- You don’t always have to be the one talking to add value to a conversation. Bringing someone else into a discussion or taking notes can have just as much impact. But make sure when you have something valuable to say, you say it!
- Not every hill is one you have to die on. There will be moments where you need to pick your battles and save your influence for a time when it really matters. Code reviews are a great example of this at a developer level.
- Delegation is key for not only your own development, but for others too. Being able to have that trust in others and support them where they need it is fundamental to moving into leadership.
For someone just starting their tech career, what steps would you recommend for building both technical and leadership skills early on?
- Say yes to as many opportunities as your time will allow.
- Volunteer for working groups that sit across the business or at least outside of your team. You’ll learn so much more compared to if you keep yourself within your team.
- Volunteer to work on things you’ve never done before and don’t be afraid to ask for help.
- Work out what your unique selling point is and invest in it! Work out what sets you apart from everyone else and lean into it.
What actions can leaders in the tech industry take to create more opportunities for women to advance in their careers?
- Create spaces for women – whether that’s business resource groups, mentorship programmes, training.
- Learn how to be an ally, and what it means to you.
- Be open to being a mentor or a coach.
- Talk to the women around you to understand what the challenges are in your business and use your influence to remove them!
How do you actively support and mentor other women in tech, and what impact have you seen from these efforts?
- Offering opportunities to women who may not know about them in the first place – e.g attending conferences.
- Just being a listening ear and open to conversation. It can feel very lonely being a woman and tech, and something as simple as a coffee and a chat can open up topics that they don’t feel comfortable talking about with anyone else.
- In the past, I ran a job interview for a woman who was attending university to re-train in computer science, and although I couldn’t offer her a role at the time I saw a lot of potential in her. So, I reached out to offer my advice on her interview technique, after we had a few catch-ups and practice interviews, she was able to get a Graduate role in another company.
- Be a sponsor and ally – bring up other women’s names in discussions, put them forward for opportunities, and share their wins!
What challenges have you encountered as a woman in a senior tech role, and how have you navigated them?
- Imposter syndrome is a common one, and whilst I’ve managed to reduce its frequency over the years, I still get pangs of doubt. Being in a senior position at a relatively young age is daunting, especially when I’m in rooms with people who have more years of experience in the industry than I’ve been alive! When I have those moments, I tell myself that with all those years of experience, they chose to hire me. And even if I can’t believe in my own abilities at that moment, I can believe in their ability to make a good hiring decision.
- Naturally, as a woman, when you start climbing the career ladder, other women look up to you (which is amazing and a huge privilege). However, there have been times when I have felt a huge amount of pressure to act a certain way, or not react in certain ways, because I didn’t want to let other people down. I don’t think we talk a lot about the pressure of, not only doing your role in a senior position but also thinking about how to help other women climb the ladder and being a role model.
What advice would you give to women in tech who are aspiring to move into leadership roles?
- Make it known that you’re interested in moving into leadership, e.g tell your manager, team, and skip manager.
- You don’t just have to be in a leadership position to practice leadership skills.
- Identify the gaps in your skillset and find opportunities in your every day to work on them e.g coaching and mentoring.
- Find mentors – whether that’s approaching someone you work with or going through a formal mentorship programme.
- Get constructive feedback and get comfortable with getting feedback. You will never grow if you don’t understand where you can improve. Finding people who can be honest with you and tell you when you could have done something differently is key.
- Network – this doesn’t have to be going to the pub after work! Get involved with activities outside of your normal role where you interact with people you wouldn’t normally! This will expand your pool of opportunities.
