Hi, I'm not what you think I am.

I've had websites and a blog in the past, which I didn't keep alive because I didn't think it was interesting. This month I decided to start writing again. To raise my voice and tell the world what drives me, what defines me and what bothers me. All in a way that is classic Jean (for the friends) but in a polished more subtle way.

I'm a lot of things

I'm a lot of things, for a lot of different people. I'm a geek and coder for my friends, family and most of my colleagues. I'm a team lead, expert, architect for others. I'm a manager, for the people in my practice. I'm a puppet for people with bad intentions. But most of all, I'm a web developer / engineer. I'm the kind of person that expects transparent communication from everyone — yes, even C-level — and tries to push boundaries. I'm the person who gets annoyed if I feel injustice is being done. But at the core, I've always been a developer and I'm using my technical knowledge to create different management and open up new opportunities.

Personally I think it's time to start a revolution. One where developers are given the responsibilities they deserve. Where they are taken serious and are not just an asset for some random manager at a desk at the top of the building. A revolution where they can thrive in what they are good at without being forced to take up a manager role in order to "go up the corporate chain". It makes no sense, to push someone in a management role because it's the only thing the company has to offer.

It makes no sense, to push someone in a management role because it's the only thing the company has to offer.

It's the task of the company to adapt and evolve to the technological world we are all living in. People are getting smarter every year at a younger age and you as a company will need to cater for these people. They expect to get enough challenges and responsibilities. Not having a decent career path, efficient processes and supporting people in growth will probably end up ruining your company since the only thing you have to offer is mediocrity. Some companies may be comfortable working at this level of quality, but I know I'm certainly not.

I've been around

I've been around for 10 years, and I've seen a lot of people manage or mismanage certain situations. Managing isn't easy and comes in different forms. It requires a healthy mix of (technical) experience and soft skills to adapt to the people that surround you. You need to be able to assess situations and need to handle accordingly. In a way, I'm the kind of manager that started in the trenches and moved his way up through the hierarchy. In a way I'm the developer that never wants to stop learning and wants to combine technical skills with people skills to enable other technical people to give the best of them. The latter made me the not so expert I once was and wanted to be. Instead it made me a more valuable asset for larger corporations that need people with technical skills and managerial ambitions. I strongly believe you need people with a technical background to really manage people with technical skills.

I strongly believe you need people with a technical background to really manage people with technical skills.

I've been Practice Manager for over 3 years now and even before that I've had numerous trainings about giving feedback, interviewing people, having healthy discussions, presentations skills, burn-out prevention, etc. I can tell you one thing: it isn't easy to give feedback or evaluate a colleague you coded with for several months or years. It takes a lot of thought in how you will act with the top hat on and how you will act with the sports cap on. I hate to break it to you, but there is no silver lining to this medal. Changing hats while entering / leaving a meeting room isn't the way you want to do this. You either act the way you want to be or you don't. Some people will be fine with the fact you are now responsible for them, but others will not. You simply can't make everybody happy and that's something you will have to deal with.

Dealing with yourself

Which brings me to the next part of dealing with yourself. It's all fun and games to have ambitions and go the extra mile over and over again, but make sure you pick an organisation that stands behind your ambitions and supports you in every decision you make. The last thing you want is end up in a situation where you keep on running in circles and you feel nothing is moving and you have reached your final destination.

Sure, some organisations have long processes or need to convince 10 levels of management before some things starts moving, but these things shouldn't be limiting. There is always someone directly responsible for you that has the ability to make things move — within certain restraints of course. If things don't move, consider moving on to something new.

If things don't move, consider moving on to something new.

Starting to feel tired of something due to the constant flow of energy you put into it without any return on investment is one of the first signals. Being tired of something is the first signal you are longing for a solution and you better not stay in it for too long. Being tired of something works on the stomach. It gives you an uncomfortable feeling you project onto everything you do. If you do not pay attention, you become sour, stressed and have a negative impact on your colleagues. Being tired of something is the ultimate signal that you need change. As an employer, you want to keep your eyes open for tired signals and not wait until you… get tired of them.

If you want something, go get it

Hold your horses, this may work if you're self-employed or happen to work in company that really wants to get you what you want. But in any other case your pursuit of happiness will end in nothing but bad things if you don't plan it well. It can end in bore-out, burn-out or even depression (it's a fine line between the last two and only differs in the origin) and trust me when I tell you: you don't want to end up in one of these. Yes, the journey is more important than the destination, but just like taking a road trip you need to pass certain checkpoints that acts as achievements. This will give you enough strength to keep working towards your destination. If you notice you're not going to reach a checkpoint because there are factors blocking you along the way, you may want to consider backing out and taking another route.

If you notice you're not going to reach a checkpoint because there are factors blocking you along the way, you may want to consider backing out and taking another route.

Things I've learned

I've learned a lot of things and some of them the hard way. I'm a hard worker, motivator, like to stir things up and get people going. Some people can appreciate this, others won't. But it is the end result that matters the most. We're all doing business and want to leave a good impression at our clients.

• Learn to sell yourself;
• Learn what business value you can bring to the table;
• Be cautious when discussing future evolutions;
• Track down boundaries of a company;
• Time management is important;
• Prioritising tasks is crucial to your peace of mind;
• Dare to say no;
• Plan in advance;
• Act outside of your comfort zone;
• Keep true to yourself;
• Keep investing in yourself;
• Do not give up, but know your own boundaries;
• Moving to a management role from within the company is not easy;
• The constant switching between a primary and secondary role is hard, both for me as an individual as for the clients I work for;
• Adapting to growth is challenging;
• Creating and maintaining career paths is hard and needs adoption from the top of the company;
• Keeping senior people motivated is hard;
• Certain things cannot be changed bottom-up, but need to go top-down;
• Changing a company that has been doing the same trick for years is a work of years.

That being said, I've documented my career on my new tech blog and included some lessons learned in every work chapter just to make it more rewarding if you would ever read it. It's not yet as detailed as I would like it to be, but it's a start. In any case: feedback, thoughts, wishes, ... are all welcome and I'm available to further discuss topics mentioned in this article.

— Cheers