At BTI360 we really care about the growth and development of our teammates. We offer half a dozen internal classes a year, provide free technical books, send teammates to conferences every year, and have an extensive college internship program with over 55 hours of workshops.
We’ve seen incredible benefit from investing in our team in these ways, but as our business grew we realized that we could do more to help our senior engineers and tech leads thrive in their roles. In 2019, we launched the Tech Leadership Academy.
Different Training for Different Challenges
As software engineers proceed through their careers, the problems they face tend to change. The skills that make a great software developer won’t necessarily make a great tech lead. The job is no longer about being the best software developer. It is about helping to build high-performing software teams, ensuring the consistent output of the team, and keeping the quality of the codebase high.
If engineers aren’t prepared for this shift in responsibilities, they can hit a wall in their growth. The Tech Leadership Academy helps engineers understand and adapt to these new challenges. The content is focused as much on soft skills and team dynamics as it is on technical topics, as we’ve found that technical leaders often work just as much on people challenges as they do on technical problems.
Tools for Leaders
A good plan is useless if the leader doesn’t have the ability to influence the team and execute those plans. The Technical Leadership Academy helps our teammates think strategically about technical problems and it equips them with the leadership tools to implement those plans. Sessions focus on fundamental skills for building productive, high-trust teams, setting the vision for a project, and addressing problems when they arise.
Active Learning
Our training approach is active and participatory. The workshops cover everything from emotional intelligence to energy management to technical decision-making, and our instructors create exercises to practice the principles that are being taught. One day that might look like role-playing how to have difficult conversations. On another day it might be an architectural kata for our team to practice designing complex systems.
Outcomes
In 2020, we graduated our first class from the Technical Leadership Academy. Those leaders are now applying and sharing what they’ve learned across our different teams. They are helping us continue to build innovative, high-quality software for our customers.
Interested in Solving Challenging Problems? Work Here!
Are you a software engineer, interested in joining a software company that invests in its teammates and promotes a strong engineering culture? Then you’re in the right place! Check out our current Career Opportunities. We’re always looking for like-minded engineers to join the BTI360 family.
