Main Conference (April 29, 2025)
Tech Leadership for Introverts
I have been in various technical leadership roles for for over 10 years, from Technical Lead to Manager of several teams. In both start ups and corporates. You get to deal with some strong personalities and you get a lot of conflicting advice.
In this lightning talk, I want to touch on things I've learned and mistakes I've made framed as advice for people starting out or considering this career path.
I want to focus on the aspects that make this track challenging for introverts. Some key points: - Learning: You can be a leader without having a title that says you're a leader. And this is often key to being recognised. - Mistake: You can burn out very quickly. Especially as a quieter person when dealing with people problems or combative personalities. - Mistake: Following your manager's career progression plan rather than shaping your own.
Some of this advice applies to the more senior levels of the IC track also, such as Staff Enginneers, I will briefly mention that as an alternative career option.
