In a past job, I got feedback: “You’re not technical enough.” What did that mean? I was a computer scientist, a leader in software engineering for a decade. Why wasn’t I considered technical? There were no suggestions on how to improve, no mentorship or coaching—just a statement meant to motivate me.

Looking back, the feedback hinted that I’d lost touch with my technical roots. Tech leaders are expected to be diverse professionals: technical experts, empathetic leaders, communication specialists, project coordinators, and customer champions. With limited “free” time, choosing wisely for our skill development is crucial.

Mid-career, I transitioned into leadership and project management roles. Back then, guidance on projects was scarce, and empathetic leadership was rare. So, I focused my time there. I earned my Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, blending my agile background with traditional Project Management. This helped me understand the complex relationships between customers, products, and teams, leading to better, faster outcomes.

Next was people management. In many fields, including mine, we promote the most skilled talent, often lacking social skills. Technical virtuosos aren’t always empathetic leaders. So, I delved into studying leadership, business, mentorship, and coaching. I’m proud to say that work paid off.  I have developed amazing people and create multiple high functioning teams.

However, this focus came at the cost of my hands on technical skills.  I still understood the world around me but lacked the ability to interact directly with it.  So, this year, I’m planting new roots. How does this translate into goals for the year?

Goal 1 – Start the Blog: Begin the blog on an easy platform, launch quickly, then move it to a self-hosted cloud. This will be a step toward build my personal website, which has been a goal to launch for years.

Goal 2 – Developing new skills: Develop a year-long coding challenge that helps me work on my skills. I will create, deploy, and share the code on Github.  I hope you will take the challenge with me.  More to come on our project in following blog posts.

Goal 3 –  Holistic Growth.  I don’t want to be so myopic that I focus only on only my technical skills.  We’re all complex people with many interests so I want to focus on my overall well-being throughout the year. Volunteer for 4 hours monthly, exercise 4 times (realistic approach), and dedicate time to non-technical projects monthly.

 Those are my goals this year…..