You’re an application developer who wants to lead a team. What are the best ways to get started?

1 Assess your strengths and weaknesses

Before you apply for a leadership position, you need to evaluate your own abilities and areas of improvement. What are your core competencies as a developer? What are your communication and collaboration skills? How do you handle feedback and criticism? How do you cope with stress and uncertainty? How do you balance your workload and prioritize your tasks? These are some of the questions you should ask yourself to identify your strengths and weaknesses as a potential leader.

3 Develop your soft skills

As a leader, you need more than technical skills to succeed. You also need soft skills, such as communication, empathy, problem-solving, creativity, and emotional intelligence. These skills will help you build trust, rapport, and engagement with your team members, clients, and stakeholders. You can develop your soft skills by taking courses, workshops, or online programs that focus on topics such as leadership, teamwork, negotiation, conflict resolution, or diversity and inclusion.

4 Seek feedback and improvement

Another way to get ready for a leadership role is to seek feedback and improvement on your performance and behavior. You can ask for feedback from your peers, managers, or mentors on how you can improve your skills, knowledge, or attitude. You can also set specific and measurable goals for yourself and track your progress and achievements. You can also use self-reflection tools, such as journals, surveys, or quizzes, to assess your own strengths and weaknesses and identify areas of improvement.

5 Volunteer for leadership opportunities

Finally, you can get started as a leader by volunteering for leadership opportunities in your current or previous projects. You can offer to take the lead on a new feature, initiative, or challenge. You can also propose your own ideas or solutions to improve the quality, efficiency, or innovation of your products. You can also mentor, coach, or support other developers who need your help or guidance. By volunteering for leadership opportunities, you can demonstrate your initiative, value, and potential as a leader in application development.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?