What are the best ways to establish a professional relationship with a senior software developer?

Show that you genuinely care about their work and knowledge. Inquire carefully about their projects, the technology they use, and their path through the career. Individuals are often appreciative of individuals who are interested in their lives, Also acknowledge and recognise their experience. Please do not hesitate to thank them if you find their work inspiring or if you have learned something from them that is worthwhile. Remember that building relationships takes time, so be patient and genuine in your efforts.

Robert Greene mentions in his renowned book "The 48 Laws of Power" that one should never outshine the master. Even if you recognize that you are technically more capable than your senior, you must show the respect they deserve and allow them to feel superior. There is usually something special about them; therefore, instead of being arrogant and condescending, adopt a learner's mentality. Be ready to learn valuable lessons and skills from them.

Respect is the foundation for a healthy and good relationship with your senior co-workers. That also means respecting their time when it comes to advice. The best way to schedule an appointment to learn from them is to do that on a regular basis like a jour-fix. Learning from a senior is not only about better coding, moreover it’s also about learning how to work. How to schedule meetings, how to answer to hard questions, how to shift a heavy workload, how to say no sometimes. Consider all these things while learning from a senior and soon you’ll be on the best way to be one too.

If you have not noticed from your skillset, techies do not want to write: notes, comments, explanations, emails or whatever. So, first rule in creating a relationship with a senior tech colleague: consider being the notetaker and more importantly focused listener. Yes, first.. Then repeat the reply to the colleague, make the notes first in short hand (any version). Secondly, stay on one topic per conversation. To discuss error codes, focus one error code and the actions you took to produce that outcome. (Hint: all error codes are the result of an action you exercised. The computer is following the instructions you transmitted with the enter key.) Next, wait for the response, give your senior colleague an opportunity to respond. Thanks

Interest, curiosity and basic knowledge matters a lot. He will immediately know if you are worth giving any time in the first 2 mins.

The best option would be to have a mentor. When it comes to learning, they can guide you from the beginning. Whether it’s a design principle or choosing a specific tech stack, their advice and wisdom should be much appreciated. Before asking them, make sure to give your best and research on the internet first. Use common tools like Google, StackOverflow or AI to try to solve your initial problems and if there is still something you couldn’t come up with on your own, then consider asking for further advice.

Approaching a senior software developer for guidance might be a good wat to break the ice and start off the relationship. This way, you can communicate your interests and interact about your ambitions, interests and have a fruitful conversation. To build this relationship even further, it is important for the senior developer to also see your actual efforts in the work. Going for an advice again and again without any actual work may hamper the senior's views about you as a developer. It is okay to seek guidance, but it would be much better to actually show your work, communicate about the issue and what all you tried before reaching out to them. This would help build a relationship of mutual respect and even they can help in a better way.

You cannot know everything, so when there is a topic where a team member could support you ( especially if they have experience ), you should give them the opportunity. Seek input where it makes sense and make them feel they are adding value; adoption of change is also easier when input is given. Do not overdo seeking input, as they will lose time on their respective tasks. Respect their time in the same way you want your time respected. When you disturb someone for an unscheduled 15 minutes, it will take them double or triple that to find their place again and regain their thinking around what they were working on.

Ask for advice on career development, technology and/or problem-solving. This can show that you value their expertise and opinion.

If you work on some complicated projects or you are new to the profession and yet not see things in great detail, it's likely some advice will help. But remember that if you are looking for a specific answer which you can find in API documentation or StackOverflow that doesn't count unless you want to understand underlying concepts and logic. Make sure you use a good time of an expert by identifying things that you can't learn easily by yourself.

Active and proactive communication is the fundamental basis of any professional relationship and not only to generate conversation with a senior developer but for anyone.

You should know that this person has been in the industry for way longer than you, but he/she is also human and knows what frustrating can it be to a be a junior that people don't listen to. Share whatever's on your mind with them, either you would get a great feedback on what you can improve or you would get points for saying something no one else thought before. There's nothing wrong with being the most ignorant in the room, there's something wrong with forever being the most ignorant in all rooms.

Whether your ideas are important or you think they are important and you want to share. First of all please be advised that just because someone is a senior doesn't mean that person will have a better idea than you or will objectively evaluate yours. Though an expert could see more details than you in certain areas and could point that out. That's an opportunity to improve your idea. Do not expect validation, most developers are critical and could put you down easily. Of course being "respectful" and "humble" is good but it's also a mutual thing, otherwise it reinforces archaic power relationships. Just be nice and expect to be treated as such.

This is tough. Please share your thoughts and experiences where it makes sense. Please wait for the right opportunity or when it is asked for. If you overshare, it will be construed as overbearing or overreaching. It is essential to respect and be humble in sharing experiences and thoughts. Use these opportunities for you both to grow by keeping it open for their experiences and thoughts. Again, without judgment, listen as you want them to hear your thoughts. Many leaders offer their thoughts and experiences as the only way. We also need to listen. I love walking meetings ( example: coffee walks ) for these opportunities.

A lot of the times asking a leading question from a person's work after enough research is helpful because there's already so much to talk about and there's a connection immediately. This establishes a friendly conversation where the senior will probably help you everytime

Learning from their example will help you understand their style. Each person or team member will have a unique way of working, communicating and learning. Some are more open than others, but you will know how to engage if you listen. This does not mean you become like them, but you will hopefully understand the person you want to engage with.

I think learning through imitation can be very effective. It can help develop a more organic relationship with existing problems and working patterns. It can also boost your confidence when working by yourself since you work using a "pre-approved" style. Later, it shouldn't be too difficult to develop your own style

Provide value can be in many ways. Open issues or solve existing issues may be a good thing to help your team, but always be respectful. The issue you may open can be verbally or on a dedicated platform, but have a nice approach to open it, depending on the personality of the considered senior.

This advice isn’t just for developers, it’s for people in general. A relationship lives from giving and taking. What does that mean? You are taking advice and learning from a mentor. Your mentor is giving advice and most of the time taking fulfillment and joy from that. You are also giving something. The better you get, the more your mentor can feel proud of the fact that he coached you. A good mentor is always eager to share his wisdom. Make sure to keep that in mind when you choose one. Never take anything for granted. Show your honest gratitude for their time and efforts. Whether it’s spending time together on a corporate event or just sending a birthday message, make sure to keep the relationship alive.

The goal is not to create a 'mini-you'. Nurturing professional relationships require being in 'standing on the sideline' mode. Just as the best coaches are operating from the side line, tech nurturing is best done by: exhorting, encouraging and insisting. This is the what-to-do. The where-to-do is multiple events: private conversations, tech events and monitoring their career progression. A nurturing relationship has two outcomes: effective and ineffective. I have had both. Nurturing relationships are either effective or ineffective. In both events, examine yourself (Senior person) first. Ensure that you where thinking: how to motivate and encourage the junior tech colleague pass your career accomplishments. Goal: thier highest potential

These items are essentials for Software Development Management : 1. Stakeholders communication 2. Team management 3. Workflow automation 4. Performance monitoring 5. Be flexible in all above

Twenty years ago while working on a consulting assignment for a large tech firm, I was asked retrieve the newly hired-company and project-hires from the client's security entrance. At that time, 'greeting new staff' was a new skill for me. Somehow, I realized that making them comfortable and welcomed would be the best approach to executing the task (so I could return to my perceived tasks). Now twenty years later, the three of us have a unbroken bound. It has been life and work events tested. We seek each other out for all life and career events. I have not always provided the warm and fuzzy response. I have always been sincere, confident, direct and a little nice. Tech is a social science, but the professionals have human skillsets, too.

In my experience, it’s recommended to always try to solve a problem before seeking assistance from a senior developer. The approach will help explain what you’ve tried as well as provide a path to the solution which in return will form a stronger bond by demonstrating your skills.

All the previous sections perfectly fit in order to establish a professional relationship with a Senior Developer but other than seeking advice and guidance, learning from their example, providing our ideas, we should also ask them for the mistakes that they've made. Learning from mistakes always help us to grow. The mistakes that they've made will help to be proactively updated and can be avoided next time.

- Find common ground - Find ways to engage with them outside of traditional means. Like I said earlier, I like coffee walks to chat about things openly; you can always have something more formal as a follow-up. - listen, don't judge or interrupt.

- Take on tasks that will push you out of your comfort zone. In my experience, facing these problems and overcoming them can do so much for you in terms of gaining new knowledge.