My first job contributed little to my career even though it was my longest tenured job. The organization was focused only on the business and had little regards to it’s employees. But it did help me build grit. Something i might not have developed in a “better” organization. I was able to join a startup and work directly with the CEO. I didn’t appreciate it then but he was a very strict and demanding mentor. At least i found a mentor. And in hindsight, his values really shaped my own expectations onto myself moving forward. My current job was my first employer that i felt rally believed in me. I was finally able to find a place where i could put into practice all the skills i accummulated through the years.

I lead a team of 10+ software developers, applying strong lean, experiment driven development practices to realize the next generation services in our organization. I work closely with the senior product owner and senior experience designer to deliver solutions. I’m accountable for defining our architectural roadmap, ideating innovative solutions and ensuring efficient delivery by our development teams. I’m also a coach and mentor for our development team members, working closely with each one on their career development plans. I’m also a leader within our region, coordinating closely woth our partners and improving the quality of life for all local members.

I’m relatively new in my role, having only been promoted 2-3mos ago. It’s been very challenging from both a technical and management perspective. It was definitely a bigger jump than i anticipated. But every week has been a bit better, a bit easier. The new role has put me in several positions to fail and every failure has improved me more. I also like the level of influence that comes with the role. It gives me a space to practice some of my bigger ideas. Lastly, being a people leader allows me to learn closely with my peers. I get a lot from our 1-on-1s and i hope i reciprocated that to them.

I hold personal values in very high regard. Situations will require us to adapt but having strong values lets adapt whilst remaining true to themselves. I like working with genuine people. Knowing oneself fosters honesty, integrity and safety. I think the best work comes from teams that accept each other. Knowing what one wants helps build motivation and focus. It keeps you grounded and centered. Working with people who know what they want is a source of energy and teams need to feed off of each other in order to evolve individually. It probably goes without saying that i value these core skills above technical skills. Not to discredit technical skills. I think technical skills get you through the door. But core skills equip you to be effective in the job.

Completing projects successfully and within budgets is always a good thing. But I feel that this is something of a minimum to aspire to. My goal is to complete projects that everyone was happy to be a part in. Projects that the both the organization as well as the team members feel success and can take away from. I want members at the end of a project to be feel accomplished and experience growth. To achieve this, it's really about culture building. And that takes a lot of effort and collaboration. I feel proud that our team continues to adopt this sense of deeper purpose.