As I'm heading toward the end of my current job, and getting ready for the challenges of my next opportunity, I've been thinking and reflecting on a few things. One of these is leadership.
I've had the opportunity to lead some great programs and teams in my career so far. I went directly from being a technical individual contributor to management without any formal managerial training. Earlier in my career I had titles and responsibilities including: software developer/programmer, engineering support, systems administration, architect, systems support, web developer, email administrator, security administrator/architect. All of these positions can offer leadership opportunities, but this is very different than formal management.
When I was in purely technical positions I had no interest in management, and couldn't even imagine going in that direction. But then an opportunity came my way and I started down the "dark path" of management! And I figured it out as I went along, with some results better than others.
