I was asked many times recently why I want to do a career shift from Solution Architect to Coach, Mentor, and Trainer. It takes a lot of work to give a simple answer to that.
My motivation comes from being the person I wanted to have around when I was young and a beginner in the Software Development industry. Most of us from this industry followed the easy road, or the first opportunity received, even from College or University. We got our first job offer as a Junior developer in any language (Java, .NET, Python, PHP, DevOps, etc.), and we took it without looking back, without knowing if that role suited our personality type or future career dreams. Without knowing that the tech industry has so many positions available, that could fit us better than a developer role, without knowing that life is not only about Programming but has many other aspects too to become a fulfilled one, knowing nothing about what other skills you need to be performant in the role you took and build a solid career from the start. If we were lucky, we got a senior developer or team leader with the experience to learn some things from them; it’s not always a rule, and even if we had, they need to have the holistic capacity to guide you. The focus is primarily on technical skills, code reviews, algorithms, and some pair programming sessions. And that’s it. No communication training, no emotional intelligence training, no interpersonal skills, no empathy, and the list could continue. If we look from just one point of view, the technical efficiency of a developer, they may be right. I experienced this strategy on my skin, and I’ve seen the results and how long it took to have some basic human skills that were not taught in school or university, and I’m afraid I have to disagree with this.
The situation will be a lose-lose in the long term because:
➖ People won’t grow on skills other than technical ones. And at a point, they will leave.
➖ You can’t build a team with people focused only on technical aspects.
➖ The communication will be a disaster inside the team, drain people off, and lead to low overall efficiency.
➖ Won’t be options for promotions or reconversions because the skills will need to be more for a leadership or a client-facing role.
➖ New people integrations will be complicated, and you cannot form a self-organizing team from this.
I exposed a few points from a company perspective on why the lack of investment in people’s soft or human skills will go wrong, but the list could continue.
As an individual, if you are part of a company that doesn’t invest in this type of training, you are a freelancer, or you are just thinking of switching to a tech role, here’s what you will receive if you invest in your development:
✅ Fast pace soft skills development. In 6 months, you will learn as you could learn by yourself in 5 years or more.
✅ You could obtain faster internal promotion opportunities.
✅ You will know how to speak up and communicate efficiently, give and receive feedback, and discuss with anyone from the company without being afraid of their position.
✅ Apply for any job you want as long as you have the right combination of technical and soft skills, even if you need more experience in that role.
✅ To increase your salary level and be paid as your worth.
✅ To have a fulfilled life outside the professional area by recognising, controlling, and expressing your emotions, taking action, and calculating risks.
To create the Career and Personal Development Program and deliver it in an organic and experiential matter, I combine the following:
✅ 20 Years of experience in roles starting from Software Developer to Management and Solution Architecture.
✅ Coaching, Mentoring, and Training techniques customized to individual needs
✅ Psychology and Personality Profiling experience
✅ Having a Mentor with expertise in your field of interest by your side, following the emotional intelligence training program, and a clear career path with technical and non-technical skills to learn, could bring you ahead in your career and life with up to 5 years or more.