The world is relentlessly innovating and thus to stay ahead of the curve we need to constantly strive to improve.
As a leader you can do this via a combination of:
- Continuing to write code so that your development skills stay sharp
- But be aware that your responsibility is to enable success for your team. So don’t spend time writing code when you can be solving problems for your team.
- I personally do this by allocating some hours for myself to write code on a weekly basis at work and at home on my own personal time.
- Reading technology books so you stay on top of innovations and trends
- Reading engineering blogs of tech companies so that you are aware of challenges other firms are facing and what approach they are taking at solving the issues
- Reading communication and leadership books to help improve soft skills and practicing the lessons from these books at your work
- Reading history, there is a lot to learn from looking back at history
- Gathering 360 feedback to understand how you are perceived so that you can adapt for better delivery
As a leader you should not only embrace personal learning and growth but also create a culture where you encourage learning and growth for the team.