I have been trying to define my professional profile a little better, and after a few hours of research, I stumbled on this incredibly clever definition of “generalizing specialist“.
I transitioned into a management role very early in my career, so staying a generalist was fundamental. In software development it is necessary to keep up with technologies and practices used by your team, and in some cases guide them through the adoption of new ones. You need to be able to read the code and understand the weaknesses and the opportunities hiding in it. You need to be able to discuss architecture choices and and if the technical underpinnings are solid enough very early in the project’s lifecycle.
Finally, you need to be able to understand if developers are explaining their way out of a week of poor productivity, or if they are making a “very bad decision” (more on that in my next article).
As a PM or SCRUM master, you need to retain and expand your technical skills to stay relevant in the market (and even in your own team).
What is the skill that you’re trying to learn right now?