The need for continuous learning in technology leadership

Without learning, there would be no progress. Curiosity is that which has driven humanity to discover new ways of living and build civilizations. Today, in the digital age, there are more opportunities than ever before to learn almost any trade or skill without requiring formal training or education, with an abundance of learning resources easily accessible online.

Here’s the catch, though: these endless opportunities not only facilitate learning, but also pretty much necessitate it. Technology is constantly evolving, requiring new skills to keep up with this evolution and continue working optimally with new technologies that get developed.

Continually acquiring new skills and learning to interact with newer and newer technologies has become key in people’s day-to-day lives as well as for professional growth and career development, particularly for people in technology leadership roles.

The surest way to remain technologically adept and proficient as you grow through your career is thus embracing continuous learning, no matter your starting point; this is what we’re going to focus on in this article.

Growth mindset

The first key element of continuous learning is having a growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset. A fixed mindset is antithetical to continuous learning since it always assumes that the existing knowledge and experience are more than adequate; it is averse to change, taking on new challenges and facing unknowns, viewing them as unpleasant and improvement as unnecessary.

In contrast, someone with a growth mindset welcomes change and strives for continuous, everyday improvement, seeing challenges not as obstacles but as opportunities for growth, and isn’t afraid to step outside their comfort zone.

Tips & tricks for effective continuous improvement

Here are some key tips for effective continuous learning/improvement to ensure you stay relevant in the constantly changing digital landscape:

1. Get hands-on/practical experience in your area of expertise
2. Find your weak points & work on them
3. Get access to quality and engaging long-term learning resources, as well as supportive mentors if possible
4. Don’t compete with others, only with yourself
5. Strive for excellence, but avoid perfectionism; don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good
6. Be resilient; don’t give up on your progress due to a bad day or a feeling of stagnation
7. Hone existing unique skills, working on becoming a specialist in your field
8. Hone other key soft skills for the digital age such as digital literacy, adaptability & creativity

The importance of continuous learning in technology leadership

Since technology is such a ubiquitous part of business and just life in general, a particular case to discuss is continuous learning in the context of technology leadership. How important are pre-existing development skills for someone in a technology management/leadership position?

There are essentially two takes here which both have specific advantages, shortcomings and considerations:

Transitioning from developer to project/development manager

Developers who become project/development managers very often have unique advantages:

• They possess a deep, hands-on understanding of technical challenges and requirements
• They are more realistic and honest about project estimates and things like scope changes
• They have credibility with engineering teams who see them as their peers rather than them having to own the engineer’s respect
• They are used to collaborating with developers as well as communicating with clients

However, they can also experience challenges in certain areas:

• Developing much needed soft skills, taking more time to get comfortable with the newfound management position
• Seeing the bigger business picture and consequently not always keeping all stakeholder needs in mind
• Having a difficult time letting go of coding and delegating it to non-management engineers
• Struggling with imposter syndrome

A lot of developers decide on this career path because they want to build cool products, not manage other people who then get to build those cool products. Then again, as project/development managers they actually have much more control over and much greater say about the development of the product, ultimately being much more deeply responsible for its successful deployment.

Starting out as project manager

Project managers with lacking or no development experience excel in their own way, bringing a lot of unique and crucial benefits to a development team and/or project.

• Putting their leadership, communication and mediation/diplomacy skills to the best use
• Being open to and leveraging diverse perspectives
• Learning to ask the right questions, taking both business and technical considerations into account
• Balancing stakeholder needs with budgeting, resource allocation & other technical requirements, as well as conveying the needs and feedback of developers & other team members working on the project

Where project managers without development/technical expertise struggle is:

• Not familiar with processes, workflows and potential limitations of a legacy codebase when on a new team, project or working with a new technology – especially if it’s a complex project
• Being poorer at making estimates and meeting deadlines due to not knowing the peculiarities of a technology/project, or needing to pressure developers to meet those deadlines, potentially leading to subpar technical decisions and issues with accessibility, security, as well as potentially misunderstandings of actual stakeholder requirements
• Requiring a lot of back and forths with development team & other stakeholders, including a lot of meetings instead of asynchronous communication
• Failing to consider important parts of the development process upfront, such as test-driven development & accessibility

Project managers can also sometimes be rigid with workflows and the use of specific project management tools; however, it’s also inevitable for them to acquire at least the basic technical skills if they want to collaborate efficiently with engineers in the long run.

Additionally, they also have a lot to juggle and consequently a lot of details to potentially miss, especially on more complex projects with a lot of moving/changing parts and different teams involved.

This heightened attention to detail is definitely a key skill that non-developer PMs need to develop and hone to make sure they always have their finger on the pulse of all of the project’s peculiarities and proactively manage any potential risks.

Conclusion

Regardless of your starting point, continuous learning is key for technology leaders and managers wanting to excel in their new role and communicate effectively with all stakeholders and team mates, conveying the needs of both to each other.

In order to facilitate continuous learning of your team members, make learning a core company value with ample resources and opportunities for growth. This will result in a better employee experience, engagement and retention, as well as a future-ready workforce that’s able to provide more and more value as time goes by and market & clients continue to evolve.