5 skills to be a great leader in tech

From Ironhack, we always encourage our students during their bootcamps to be on the lookout for new business and career opportunities. Álvaro Moya is an entrepreneur, has 8 years of experience as CTO and he is the founder of Lidr, a community of leaders in the tech world. Through events, workshops, resources and training, Lidr coaches professionals in tech to acquire the skills to grow and develop personally and professionally.

In this article, he explains the so-called entrepreneurial mindset: an attitude towards work that applies to any person in the digital environment, regardless of their position, years of experience or industry.

I have met more than 200 entrepreneurs in my professional life, been a consultant and worked with them hand by hand. Each person and each business is different, of course; however, it is possible to identify similar characteristics in all of them.

These attitudes and leadership skills are transferable to anyone in the workforce, they are not exclusive for entrepreneurs and will make you stand out when doing a job interview or launching your own company and talking to investors. 

1. Business vision:
   This is the ability to talk about business and understand the needs of the company. Whether you are a CTO or a junior developer, you need to see beyond your daily tasks. Yes, tech experts are able to “talk to computers” but it’s crucial that they see the company from a holistic perspective that allows them to make the right decisions and talk to CEOs and other stakeholders.
   
   
2. Ownership:
   entrepreneurs are pursuing their dreams. Passion is their driving force and responsibility is the consequence, since they are risking a lot. Money is not everything for entrepreneurs, they don’t seek stability or comfort but solving a problem in the market and making a long-term scalable business out of it. It is important to have full ownership of the company, that’s why it’s crucial that entrepreneurs have technical skills: they need to learn as fast as they can, ask when they don’t know and get their hands dirty to try new things. Ownership means thinking in the long run and learning whatever is necessary to get there.
   
   
3. Autonomy:
   Self-motivation is not always easy, but it’s the key to success. Whether it's learning new things, growing or developing soft skills, motivation should be internal and it’s part of every professional journey. Resilience is the fuel that keeps people focused on their final objective; no matter how many times they fail, they get back up and see the connection between what they are doing today with their long-term goals. This is the true root of optimism, it’s not that things always go well but the strong conviction that there is a bigger cause to work for.
   
   
4. Customer centric:
   Digital solutions are built for real people. Without empathy, it is impossible to understand what is not working, both from a technical and human aspect. Whether you are managing a team, you are an entrepreneur or you are a junior professional in tech, having the customer at the center will lead you to find the right solutions. This mindset also makes teams more effective, since they work together for a common goal: solving problems to make other people’s lives better.
   
   
5. Continuous improvement:
   Seeking for perfection means understanding that things can always be improved. This attitude comes together with a lean startup methodology to get things done: lean startup is the management method to experiment, test and iterate in the process of product development. At the heart of every decision and every project, there should be a focus on measurement and learning. This attitude allows teams to iterate quick and fast, perfection is the final goal and the way to go there is step by step. 

It may seem that these skills are something leaders are born with, but the truth is that all this can be learned. Thanks to agile methodologies applied to workshops, specific training for entrepreneurs or even working in your own projects, these skills are teachable and can be put into practice today - regardless of your current position at the company. Collaborative tools such as Miro or Figma allow people to work in teams, to understand each other and to identify their pain points to keep developing the entrepreneurial mindset. 

If you are an entrepreneur and want to develop tech skills, check out our bootcamps in UX UI Design, Web Development, Data Analytics and Cybersecurity. If, on the other hand, you are part of a tech company and are looking to hire tech talent or upskilling your workforce, check our Enterprise solutions.