Welcome to 2021! I wish you a happy, healthy & successful year ahead. 2020 got a lot of bad rap. But rarely do we acknowledge how far it pushed us. In just 12 months, we adopted more technology than ever, made scientific breakthroughs like the vaccine, and stood together for social liberties like never before. Not to forget, The Mentoring Club is also a product of this time. As I was reflecting on the bright side of 2020 , I couldn’t help appreciate how mentoring has personally benefited me in my role as product director, and brought joy through giving whatever little I've learned. So 30 sessions later, I wanted to share how mentoring helped me become a stronger product leader. 1. Mentoring amplified my analytical and critical thinking ability. Every conversation brings new perspectives, situations and challenges to the table. What worked (or didn’t) for me, in my context, is valuable but can’t be applied as is to the mentee's. Take a look below at some of the topics &am
Last December I made the leap to being a manager, having been a software engineer for 4 years previously. As a mentor, I'm sometimes asked about this choice. Some days my answer is "I love it", some days I say "I hate it and I want to go back", but always my answer is "I've learned a lot". Here's some lessons I learned so that hopefully, you'll make the choice wisely and won't make the same mistakes I did in your first year. 1. No one knows what they’re doing When I first became a software engineer, it seemed like everyone knew what they were doing all the time and I felt hugely intimidated asking any questions. This was something I spent most of that job working through and suffered from some anxiety whenever I needed to ask for help. This is now my number one thing I tell engineers who are new to the industry - seriously, ask the damn question. You can ask it now and bother someone with no time wasted, or you can spend another 8 hou