Ready to Take On a Senior Role or Leadership Position as a Developer?

It seems like no sooner than you have secured the title of “software developer” that the dream morphs and you start to question, what’s next?

The ever-elusive senior role.

What does it mean to be a “senior developer?” Is “senior developer” even the title you crave? Maybe it’s “team leader,” “systems architect,” “tech lead,” or some other obscure title. There seems to be no shortage of job titles in the industry right now.

The truth is there is no right answer, no right path. Each of these variants implies different skills, different strengths, and you need to decide for yourself:

• Which of these skills and strengths do you possess?
• Which ones do you want to cultivate?
• Which ones will bring you fulfilment, or, dare I say it, happiness?

The path to seniority might seem inevitable, but what are the real-world steps to getting there? Do you have to go there at all? It’s just a path, and all paths are optional.

Many companies today are emphasizing that it is, indeed, just a path. It has become expected that seniority means more money, but that is a trap. Thankfully, times are changing, and, whilst many leadership roles still do pay more, some forward thinkers are seeing it as another path and all paths are of equal value.

So, putting money aside, is this the path you really want?

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Seniority vs. Leadership

Senior roles are different from leadership roles.

A tech lead or a senior developer is a shining example. Someone who does things the way it should be done, who has the experience and has “been there before.” Junior software developers can look up to them to see how they should code, how they should organize themselves, and how they should deliver results.

These roles may involve a level of mentorship, but with limited responsibility. The focus is on leading by example. A senior developer should have knowledge, experience, and opinion on how to structure the code. They should be concerned with quality and performance.

Leadership focused roles are concerned with the overall performance of the team. Leave no-one behind. Everyone on the team needs to be happy and healthy and able to do their role. When someone is struggling, even the whole team, then it is the responsibility of the leader to correct it, possibly through the deployment of the senior developers.

A leader serves the team.

Let me say that again: a leader serves the team.

It’s not the elevated position that popular opinion once held in such high regard. It is the position that cares for the team, the product, and, therefore, the performance of the department and company as a whole.

Read More: How to Negotiate Your Salary as a Remote Developer

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Are You Ready for a More Senior Position?

How do you know when you’re ready to become a senior developer?

To know when you are ready for senior roles or leadership positions, you need to consider the required skills and behaviors. You need to consider if they are strengths you possess or whether they are qualities you wish to develop.

Taking the roles in turn, the senior developer role demands technical proficiency. You must know your programming language and framework of choice with considerable depth. You ought to know how to structure applications and how to build robust, secure, and scalable solutions. You will always be solving problems in coding, but, at the senior level, it will be the real-world problems that test you versus the technical challenges — especially when you’re not overly familiar with the stack that challenges a junior developer on a daily basis.

The leadership role requires greater soft skills. More specifically, empathy. You may still have tasks to complete on your own, but your focus is on the team. Are they happy, focused, driven, and performant? Great people skills are important here, as well.

It is common for people to have aspirations for a senior role as an escape from the daily routine of coding. You can simply direct others and not do the work yourself, so the thinking goes. While it may be true that you will code less, wanting to stop coding is a symptom of not enjoying your coding job and does not necessarily mean it’s time for management. There is a certain leadership skill set required, and, if you’re not qualified or ready, it will hurt far more than coding ever did!

Before you make that move, check your attitude:

• Do you lead by example in the code you deliver?
• If not, why not?
• Do you know the tools inside and out?
• Do you hold yourself and your teammates to a higher standard?
• Do you not only know what to do and how to do it, but also, why it should be done that way?

Your answers to these questions will determine whether you have the experience necessary.

If leadership attracts you, then you should care about the team, how they feel, and whether they are progressing. Do you leave work the second your tasks are finished for the day? Many true leaders make sure everyone on the team leaves together, or at least doesn’t stay behind feeling isolated and abandoned. Remember what I said earlier: a leader serves the team.

Read More: When You’re Ready to Become a Mid-Level Developer (No Longer a Junior)

Moving to a senior role is not something that happens overnight, though the title does change in an instant.

It is a progression.

If this path is something you want to pursue and you like the company and team, then it’s time to have a conversation with your manager. You need to indicate your desire to follow a certain career path and ask what you need to demonstrate in order to make this happen. Being able to clearly provide evidence of your abilities as discussed above will help greatly.

Do not expect an immediate decision. It took you time to come to this conclusion, and others will need time to reflect on it, too.

If the answer or feedback is negative, then consider the points being made.

Are they referencing skills you do need to work on, or do you need to simply work on evidencing them?

Just because you believe you have certain skills and qualities doesn’t mean somebody else has witnessed them. It may be that this person, this company, or this department don’t see you this way and may never see you this way.

Take that and learn from it. It may mean you have to move on from the company to get started on your new chosen path and upward trajectory. You’ve changed, but that doesn’t mean that everyone sees the new you.

Read More: 10+ Tips for Preparing for a Remote Software Developer Interview

Preparing to Move Up

If you do decide to make the move and set out on this path, remember what you set out to do.

With great power comes great responsibility.

Perhaps you’ll become a senior developer, a shining example to all those who begin their career in programming as you did.

Or maybe you’ll become a leader, one where you descend the ladder to service rather than climb it to success. You are the support system and the central hub of a network, namely, your team. You hold the career trajectory of a team of developers in your hands, and the world would be in a better place if you look after theirs more than you look after your own.

Are you wondering if a move into leadership or seniority is right for you?

Feel free to leave a comment below, and we’ll happily answer your questions or feedback!

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