Being able to code is not enough to become a truly successful Web or App developer. There is no denying that coding is the foundation of the career, but much more is required in order to achieve big goals. Nowadays the supply of developers in the market is abundant and the competition is fierce. Many of them can code exceptionally and they might do it at the speed of light as viewed by an outsider. By and large, these tech geeks appear to be more fluent in computer language as opposed to everyday language needed to communicate with real people. You may or may not have noticed that most of them guys (or sometimes girls) lack these basic skills:
- Writing
- Leadership Qualities
- Business Sense
All three of the above listed skills are more or less related to each other and together help skyrocket to the heights of your career.
Writing
You might be surprised to see ‘writing’ on the list and wonder what on earth does that mean? Truth be spoken, writing skills can do miracles for a developer’s speaking power. All programmers need to document their work for the sake of their employer, product users or client. How will the other party grasp the concept of what he/she has created if they fail to translate it into human language?
Nowadays, it is common practice to hire copywriters for converting IT projects into readable material. Sadly, more than often that person fails to appropriately put someone’s else experience onto paper in his/her own words. As a result, the impact of a developer’s hard work is greatly diminished and ignorance prevails.
A programmer who is familiar with the art of writing can record and elaborate every detail of his work like none other. The person who lacks in this area can never be a good mentor or even smart enough to learn from others’ published content.
A developer needs to be capable of speaking up in order to communicate his/her strengths and achievements to an audience or potential employer. There is no way to come up with a commendable speech unless you can write well. Having someone else write it for you can be an option, but would that be good enough to deceive your recipients?
Developers with a flair for writing know their way around words and can answer all questions that may abruptly be thrown his/her way. It adds a sense of self-assurance to personality and builds aptitude.
Bonus points to mastering writing skills:
- You can contribute to the world by sharing your knowledge – teaching and/or blogging can be a part-time or full-time career
- The life of programmers can be stressful – writing is a great form of catharsis
- You will always be one step ahead in grabbing projects/opportunities; Employers love candidates who can communicate with confidence.
Leadership Qualities
Programmers have become a stereotype – they are seen as these socially awkward beings who have no life except for coding. This is obviously not true (just overly exaggerated), although it’s possible that spending so much time in front of a computer cuts them off from the rest of the world for a while. Programming requires a lot of focus after all, yet a balanced lifestyle has to be maintained. Having little or no social life can contribute to a becoming an introvert. Being an introvert is not necessarily a bad thing but it can come in the way of building leadership qualities.
A developer cannot make his ideas count or influence others while working as a team if he/she lacks leadership qualities. Being outspoken and fearless is the key; these attributes branch from active socializing and participation in discussions. Also, others will only pay attention if your words are clear and hold value. Now connect the dots – writing skill plays a vital part in helping you take the lead during meaningful conversations. You can only be a leader when you know what to do and can adeptly convey it to people surrounding you.
When a developer has mastered leadership qualities he/she can consider entrepreneurship and be in control of big projects with promising returns.
Bonus points to mastering Leadership Qualities:
- You can boss around
- People will look up to you
- Anyone will think twice before disagreeing with you
Business Sense
A developer having a strong business sense can never be taken advantage of. Awareness of business tactics helps them identify their own worth and the value of what they create. The majority of programming courses do not include business studies in their curriculum even though it forms an integral part in the real world.
Despite having a good know-how of the way business works, you cannot close a deal without leadership qualities and strong speaking power. It is easy to get overwhelmed or suppressed by big corporations. You can only win if your debate is better than theirs’.
Bonus points to mastering Business Sense:
- You can determine which partner or buyer best suits you
- Ability to differentiate between profit and loss
- Have long-term and short-term contracts work in your favor
Now connect the dots – writing skill enhances your vocabulary and sentence structure which in turn builds up speaking power. Speaking power paired with confidence equals leadership qualities. Then blend in business sense and you will become unbeatable.