One of my unpopular opinions is that one should choose between being a leader or an expert. Especially in tech, it’s widely accepted that engineers who step into management positions become less hands-on.
I am still personally in denial, and so far this hasn’t been confirmed for me.
First of all, I’ve spent my entire life investing time and energy into developing myself as both a leader and an expert. After exploring this for a long time, I realized it’s rooted in a childhood belief: you cannot be a leader without first being an expert in what you do. Managing teams whose work you don’t fundamentally understand doesn’t work for me, and I believe organisations that operate with this kind of leadership are already undergoing transformations.
I feel grateful to be part of a company where technical leadership is highly appreciated, and where most administrative tasks in the management layer are externalized to specialized teams. This allows me to create impact as the Head of a technical department, while still having time for architecture, tech innovation, R&D, preparing cutting-edge demos, and handling tough presales. This is the kind of leadership I believe in and the kind I’ve personally explored through many journeys before reaching this point.
Historically, I’ve held multiple leadership roles throughout my life—from informal community leadership in school and high school, to becoming a technical lead in university as Head of IT in an NGO.
I’ve always carried the technical nuance of leadership and never focused specifically on leadership through popularity, motivation, public speaking, or personal branding (although these often came naturally as a consequence).
What I value most as a leader is time management, patience, planning skills, transparency, and the ability to reuse effort efficiently.
This is what I will talk about with my mentees through Bridging Gaps—a community born to empower Romania’s middle management to reach top leadership roles and create global impact.
I am happy to join such a strong and self-motivated community, supporting the growth of future technology leaders in Romania! 💪
I would like to thank Lucian Popovici and Horia Zamfir for inviting me to be part of this initiative. This is a highly important concept for the local community to scale and thrive.