Remain a technical expert as you grow into leadership roles

As engineers, we put a lot of value on our skills. We tend to judge others and decide if we respect them based on their skills and expertise.

This becomes more apparent when you're in a technical leadership role. Your engineering expertise has a major influence on whether people respect and follow you.

It's important to stay up to date and remain an expert in a domain of your preference. If you don't stay up to date, you run the risk of becoming an expert with 10-20 years of experience who gets technically challenged by junior people, which in turn costs you the trust of the engineers you lead.