From Reluctant Coder to Tech Director: My Unexpected Leadership Journey👩💻
When You Accidentally Become a Tech Leader 🎯
Picture this: a girl who doesn't particularly enjoy coding decides to join an organization's IT division. Yes, you read that right! Even I sometimes wonder what was going through my mind. But looking back, this decision was truly a blessing in disguise.
Before ChatGPT existed (feels like ancient history now, doesn't it?), I built my very first website from scratch. Those countless nights digging through Stack Overflow just to fix image layouts were both excruciating and exhilarating. Despite the challenges, I managed to complete the project well before the deadline. ✅
Reality check: Nothing I learned in this project was taught in school. Nothing. At. All.
The Naïve Leap 🦸♀️
Watching my senior manage developers inspired me. In my typically ambitious (or perhaps naïve) fashion, I thought, "I could do that!" So I applied to be the tech director for the next year's orientation.
And guess what? I got in.
Let's be clear about something: I wasn't the smartest student or the most experienced developer. My technical vocabulary was... let's just say "developing." But I had years of leadership experience from elementary through high school, which gave me a foundation to build upon.
The Only Girl in the Room 💪
Suddenly, I found myself leading a team of 10 guys—all with minimal coding experience—while being the only female in the division. Talk about diving into the deep end!
Fortunately, I had three seniors who could help guide the juniors. I paired each newcomer with a senior so they could learn collaboratively. This mentoring approach created a supportive learning environment where everyone could grow at their own pace.
How We Made It Work ⚙️
After six months of learning, developing, and occasionally fixing "minor details" (translation: emergency debugging at 2 AM 😴), we successfully launched the website. But how did we actually pull it off?
Here's what worked for us:
- Intuitive delegation: Assigning projects based on each person's skill level
- Pair programming: Creating buddy systems for better knowledge transfer
- Clear deadlines: Setting realistic but firm timelines
- Code reviews: Providing constructive feedback to improve quality
- Weekly check-ins: Identifying and removing roadblocks early
The Unexpected Gift 🎁
This experience opened my eyes to project and product development. I discovered that I enjoyed creating user flows and UI/UX designs even more than coding itself.
But the most meaningful part? Watching my team members grow and develop their skills. Seeing their increasing interest in software development gave me a sense of satisfaction I hadn't expected. ✨
Despite my initial reluctance, becoming an IT director wasn't just "not that bad"—it was transformative. It taught me that sometimes the paths we're most hesitant to take are exactly where we need to go.
Stay tuned for my next blog post, where I'll share how I reluctantly found myself in an even higher leadership position, managing business operations with zero business background. Spoiler alert: it involves more accidental learning, tough decisions, and finding my authentic leadership style! 🚀