Deividas’ Story
Building Confidence in Leadership
When Deividas was promoted to team leader of his software development team, he was stepping into a role he had never previously held. Despite having been part of the team for three years, he knew there were others who felt they should have been chosen instead. As a result, he felt significant pressure to exceed expectations. From the start of our mentoring relationship, we established steps to help him build trust with his team and agreed on how we’d collaborate to ensure he had the support he needed.
As Deividas’ confidence grew, he shared that our early discussions “gave me confidence to do my best job, to not be afraid, challenge the status quo within the teams and to not be afraid to make a mistake and apologise if needed.”
Developing Strategic Leadership
Deividas was a fast learner, and with minimal guidance, he was able to improve team collaboration by being honest about his own strengths and weaknesses. He built rapport with his team and introduced initiatives that allowed the team to participate in ideating, creating, and implementing. This gave the team a sense of ownership, strengthening their working relationships.
“[Damien] gave me confidence to do my best job, to not be afraid, challenge the status quo within the teams and to not be afraid to make a mistake and apologise if needed.”
When a team member decided to leave, Deividas saw it as a learning opportunity, both for himself and the team. He continued to lead his team to success, even in the face of challenges. As the team’s performance improved, Deividas began developing team leads to support his established vision. Though he occasionally questioned whether he was “cut out” for the responsibility, we worked together to overcome these doubts through reassurance and brainstorming, refining his leadership approach and ensuring the team's success.
Problem-Solving and Adaptability
As Deividas’ responsibilities expanded, he was asked to lead a new team of senior developers — a challenge he initially found daunting. He needed to ensure that the team continued to deliver, but also improve their effectiveness. Together, we reviewed strategies, and Deividas decided to adopt an approach that engaged the team’s expertise and passion for problem-solving.
I recall the next discussion we had where Deividas outlined that one of the developers confided in him that for years he had been told that in order to be promoted further, he needed to collaborate better with others and until now, did not know what that meant. With Deividas’ guidance he was able to work so much more effectively with his peers. This was a big personal moment in Deividas leadership journey. It made him feel accomplished in his role. It gave him the confidence to realise that putting these small pieces together, he was able to make progress in this career - and this progress was becoming more and more apparent to leadership.
Balancing Theory with Experience
Deividas valued the combination of theory and practical experience that I offered, which enabled him to apply leadership concepts in real time.
As he said, “the combination of experience and theory allowed me to better understand, align, and learn as opposed to having only theory without any practice/ability to apply it.” On the contrary though, as I pointed out to him, it was in fact he that did all the travelling, I was simply the signpost.
Accelerating Career Growth
Through his dedication and our ongoing mentoring, Deividas did the work to deliver on his true leadership potential so that following only 18 months of our interaction he was not only comfortable with dealing with both the challenges and opportunities that leadership in a software company throws at him, but he developed a leadership style to rapidly accelerate his career and its further opportunities. He became relied upon by his leaders and called upon when there were difficult challenges to be overcome because of the track record he’d developed in such a short time.
The Benefit of My Mentorship to Deividas
1. Building Confidence: Empowered Deividas to embrace leadership and establish trust with his team.
2. Strategic Leadership Development: Helped him refine team dynamics and foster collaboration.
3. Problem-Solving and Adaptability: Guided Deividas through complex challenges, turning them into opportunities for growth.
4. Blending Theory and Experience: Provided a combination of theoretical and practical insights that Deividas applied immediately.
5. Accelerating Career Growth: Supported Deividas’ rapid progression through consistent mentorship.
This mentorship not only equipped Deividas with the tools and confidence to lead but also helped him develop a leadership style that continues to guide his career success.