🧩 How Software Engineers Can Prepare for Leadership Roles
Want to grow into a tech leader? Shift your focus from coding to soft skills like mentoring, communication, and impact tracking. Here's how to start.
Hi everyone, Fran here 👋.
I had the pleasure of collaborating on this article with
. He is an engineering manager and writes a newsletter at .Today, the topic we wrote about is how leadership in software engineering is less about coding prowess and more about developing soft skills like mentoring, communication, and impact tracking.
⭐ In this post, you’ll learn
How to shift your focus from solely technical skills to essential soft skills like mentoring and communication
Practical steps to begin building leadership skills immediately
The importance of proactive problem-solving and identifying team needs
I leave you with Gábor’s article and I’ll share my thoughts at the end!
I talk to a lot of software engineers who want to be leaders.
When I ask them why they’re not already in leadership, the most common answer is:
“I don’t know how to get started.”
I’ve been a software engineer, a team lead, a lead front-end developer, and an engineering manager.
Today, I coach developers who want to grow into leadership.
In this guide, I will show you where to start—step by step.
The biggest illusion
Many developers think the first step toward leadership is being the best coder on the team.
I thought the same.
But it’s simply wrong.
When I became a team lead, I was a strong developer. I knew the latest frameworks and techniques.
But within a few months, I was overworked, stressed, and on the verge of burnout. My head was about to explode.
So, why isn’t being a good developer enough?
Because leadership isn’t about code. It’s about people. And that means you need a different set of skills.
Google’s Project Oxygen makes this clear.
7 out of the top 8 traits of great managers were soft skills.
Only one was technical.
If you want to become a leader in tech, you need to practice leadership, not just programming.
3 Steps You Can Take Right Now
Here’s how you can start building leadership skills without waiting for a promotion.
1. Start mentoring someone
If you’ve been in your job for even 6–12 months, you already know things a junior developer doesn’t.
Try this:
Help someone understand your team’s process.
Review a pull request and explain your comments.
Share how you solved a tricky bug or made a smart trade-off.
Mentoring builds leadership fast. You learn to explain clearly, give feedback, and support someone’s growth.
A study by the Association for Talent Development (ATD) found that formal mentoring programs benefit everyone:
Mentees gain professional development and understand company culture better.
Mentors improve leadership skills and gain new perspectives.
Organizations see higher engagement, retention, and support for top talent.
57% of people said mentoring programs were highly effective for learning,
38% said they were highly effective for business results.
2. Run a team meeting or a demo
If you’re quiet during meetings, it’s hard to show leadership. Speaking up builds confidence.
Start small:
Lead the next sprint demo.
Run one daily standup per week.
Host a short discussion about a technical decision.
You’ll practice organizing your thoughts, guiding others, and listening to input.
These are core skills for tech leads and managers.
A McKinsey report found that companies with well-connected teams are 20–25% more productive.
And leadership is mostly about clear, consistent communication.
3. Track your impact—not just your code
Most engineers list what they built, such as features, commits, and PRs. But if you want to grow into a leadership role, you need to also track how your work made a difference.
To learn how to talk about outcomes, not just features, start a simple weekly log to track:
How your work helped the team ship faster
How you unblocked a teammate or reduced stress
How you improved a process, cost, or communication
This shows how you think like a leader.
It also makes performance reviews and promotion talks much easier.
Harvard research shows that employees who reflected for just 15 minutes a day performed 22.8% better—even though they worked fewer hours.
Reflection improves decision-making, confidence, and learning speed.
Source: https://www.library.hbs.edu/working-knowledge/reflecting-on-work-improves-job-performance
Final thought
If you want to lead one day, start today.
Don’t wait for a promotion.
Don’t wait to be “ready.”
Just take one small step.
These steps will help you grow into the kind of leader teams want to follow.
—Gábor
Fran here again!
I’ve found there are a few extra things that really make a difference, especially when you're looking to step up.
First, look for the gaps and fill them. In every team I've been part of, there are uncovered areas, like meticulously tracking the release calendar or improving the onboarding process with useful information that it took everyone else months to learn.
You don't need to ask for permission to do something out of your way. If you see a need, address it. It’s about taking ownership beyond your immediate tasks.
Second, rethink mentoring. Many people think mentoring is a one-way relationship, where the mentee learns from the mentor. But having worked as both a mentor and a mentee, I see that it’s a mutual exchange. Both parties gain a diverse set of experiences that they haven't lived firsthand.
When I work as a mentor, I get exposed to a variety of scenarios that I wouldn't encounter quickly on my own, and I have to articulate what I'd do in those situations. This sharpens my problem-solving skills and forces me to consider different perspectives. It's a powerful way to accelerate your own learning while helping others.
Finally, reliability is key. The difference between "just doing your work" and being someone reliable is often very small. It’s a low-hanging fruit. Simply following up with people, keeping your promises, and being consistent in your communication can improve your perceived trustworthiness.
When people know they can count on you, they're more likely to trust your judgment and see you as a leader. It's about building a reputation for dependability, which is invaluable in any team environment.
It’s not just about the code; it’s about the people and the process.
I hope you liked this article with Gábor. Make sure to subscribe to
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Thank you for the article! I think these objectives are correct for starting a leadership journey. It would also be nice to explain how to achieve this if the company doesn't provide opportunities or if you are a freelancer. How can one grow their leadership skills in such situations?