If you want to truly advance your career in the information technology or engineering fields, leadership skills are a must. A path to becoming manager or even someday reaching the executive suite typically involves increasing levels of responsibility. Developing leadership skills throughout your career — whether or not you want to become a manager — is part of being a true professional.
Here are a few ideas on learning how to lead in the technology field.
When First Beginning Your Career — Lead by Example
If you are fresh out of school in the early stages of a career, companies aren’t going to just give you a managerial or even a senior role. Take this opportunity to lead by example — arrive early and stay late; make suggestions to improve a project, or even mentor your co-workers in a new application or piece of hardware. Make sure not to step on anyone’s toes and maintain a positive attitude, since a fine line exists between showing leadership as a young professional and being overbearing.
Position Yourself as a Technology Thought Leader Online
In addition to serving as the preeminent social network for professionals, LinkedIn also offers the opportunity for you to publish articles related to your industry. This provides a great way to network and gain status as a thought leader in your technical specialty, while also giving your company a bit of publicity. Showing this kind of initiative gets you noticed by the executive team.
Ask for the Opportunity to Serve as Team Lead on a Project
Getting the chance to be a team lead on one of your company’s projects lets you show your mentorship skills as well as the other abilities managers leverage on a daily basis. This serves a nice stepping stone to earning a manager or senior engineer title.
Further Your Education by Earning an Advanced Degree
Consider going back to school to earn your masters. An MBA especially provides a perfect compliment to a technology-related bachelor’s degree. If your company offers tuition reimbursement, definitely take advantage of the perk.
Following these few tips will hopefully puts you on the fast track to being an important leader for your company.
If you need any more advice on building a great career in technology, talk to the knowledgeable recruiters at Synerfac. One of the top tech staffing agencies in the country, serving Cherry Hill and the rest of the East Coast, we can help make you a top notch professional. Meet with us today!