Latest
-
How to go back to being a technical engineering manager
A guide for getting back to hands-on management.
-
Your career isn’t stuck – you’re playing by the wrong rules
Discover what true inclusion means by exploring practical ways to support neurodivergent colleagues and create genuinely diverse teams.
Editor’s picks
Engineering leadership is not just about code
If you’re looking to move into an engineering leadership position, you’ll have to do more than brush up on code!
How to find and become a great engineering mentor
Mentoring is a great way to boost your career. Here’s everything you need to know about getting a mentor, and becoming one yourself.
How to navigate unexpected role changes
At one point or another, you may have to face an unexpected role change. It might not be what you want, but there are ways to make it work.
Deadline: January 4, 2026
Call for Proposals for London 2026 is open!
Essential reading
Learning to enjoy the career progression journey
Reaching a management position in the tech industry is hard work. It’s important to remember to enjoy the journey and celebrate victories big and small along the way.
On our Career development playlist
There and back again – A cautionary tale about entering middle management
Explore the realities of middle management through a journey of promotion, stress, and self-reflection, offering guidance on finding the right leadership path.
Unconventional paths in tech: Leveraging your strengths to find your place
n this talk, Mitra Raman will take a look at the many paths that engineers can take on their leadership journey.
Career vectors for technical leaders
Mix and match skills to become the best technical leader that you can be.
The path from Director to CTO: How to follow it, or how to mentor it
This talk is aimed at both aspiring Chief Technology Officers and those who are in a position to mentor future CTOs. Explore the journey from a Director of Engineering role to a CTO, focusing on the skills and experiences needed for this transition and how experienced leaders can guide others on this path.
Essential soft skills you need to succeed as an engineer
There is a big focus on technical expertise in software engineering – but soft skills are equally as important. Which ones are crucial to master and how can you do this?
The festival of engineering leadership
London • June 2 & 3, 2026
More about Career development
-
Becoming a more self-directing Staff+ individual contributor
Being a Staff+ engineer can leave you feeling overwhelmed with duties that may sometimes fall completely outside of your perceived remit. What practices can mitigate these instances?
-
LeadDev editor’s picks: March 2023
From wrestling with the possibilities of ChatGPT and generative AI tools, to making stronger values for more consistent leadership, February was a thought-provoking month for engineering managers. In no particular order, here are the five articles you need to read on LeadDev.
-
LeadDev editor’s picks: February 2023
From navigating a difficult hiring landscape to techniques for more effective context switching, here are our top five articles from last month to help you get 2023 off to a strong start.
-
Goal planning for the new year and beyond
The new year brings a fresh start and ample opportunity to establish goals. But for some, setting short-term or long-term objectives can be a daunting task.
-
The best of LeadDev 2022
We published more than 240 articles this year from a diverse range of voices to help you become better engineering leaders. Here’s our pick of the ten you must read as we turn into 2023.
-
What makes an effective software engineer?
Being a good software engineer is not necessarily the same as being an effective one. Here, Google’s Addy Osmani identifies the ten key traits of effective software engineers.
-
What is a CTO? Job description, responsibilities, and salary expectations
The chief technology officer is the top of the software engineering career ladder, but there are many routes to reaching the position. Here are the expectations for the role, how to get there, and what you could earn.
-
LeadDev editor’s picks: December 2022
From responding to the risk of layoffs, to why you probably shouldn’t rewrite that code, here are the five articles you absolutely need to read from November on LeadDev.
Top Career development videos
-
Skills for first-time Lead Developers
The transition from a developer to a Lead Developer can be a rocky one.
-
How to affect change without losing your job
Sometimes, we want to make changes to processes and habits our team has, but it’s not around the code itself. How can we do that? How do we make changes to the habits of hundreds? Moreover, how can we do this work as individual contributors?
-
Extended leave: how to manage the anxieties of returning to work
As more companies offer longer parental leaves and other leaves of absence, managers and their teams are learning how to handle them successfully.
-
Lessons from flying for engineering leadership
In October of 2008, I’d been unemployed for about four months. I was doing some consulting work, but still feeling entirely uncertain about my ability to make a living, so I did the obvious thing: I decided it was a good time to learn how to fly a plane.
-
Exploring the different types of technical leadership
Over the many years, Patrick has trained, coached and mentored many engineers into Technical Leadership roles. He is delighted by the way that everyone has their own style and “flavour” of being a Technical Leader.
-
How to scale yourself at the speed of Slack
Your organization is going through an unprecedented period of growth. How do you keep up?