Develop Denver: Day 2
After an amazing first day at the Develop Denver conference in the uniquely wonderful RiNo (River North) area of Denver, there was a lot of anticipation. Engaging events from the first day had started a lot of conversations for myself and others at the after-hours event and I was ready for more. The day was very promising with a panel about learning how to go from being a great IC, individual contributor, to a great leader, agile in remote teams, UX to grow your career, and a hackathon just to name a few.
Navigating to my first event I really took notice of how so many were embracing one of the main themes of the conference: inclusion. People introducing themselves and really making the effort to be accommodating. It harkened back to the first day’s opening event where a challenge was put out for everyone to make at least one new friend. While this is a seemingly simple thing, it can get lost in all of the excitement and buzz of a conference.
Another thing that dawned on me as I progressed through the second day was just how diverse the venues were. There was one location that was a winery which had a very intimate, cozy feel to it, all the way to a hotel which had a very interesting set of art exhibits. Hats off to the planning committee because I felt like each event and venue I went to were paired quite well.
Most of the talks and panels were great, but the one that really resonated with me had to be about transitioning to leader from being primarily an IC. The panel was very clear in that it wasn’t advocating that everyone had to be leaders, but more that it’s something that a lot of thought and consideration needed to go into. Other nuggets of truth were that leaders aren’t always or usually the smartest or most capable technical person in the room and that leaders do not have to be people leaders. The real objective for a leader is to know who is the best person for the task and also how to motivate that person to bring out their potential. Leaders also come in many different shapes and sizes, meaning that someone who displays qualities of charging towards new technology or methods and processes can also be a leader.
Over the two days of the conference it was amazing to see and interact with a wide array of folks. My main takeaway was that no matter how impressive or accomplished you are as a developer or employee there is always room for growth and that growth can always be improved through adding others to the process with you. So in the spirit of the convention I encourage others to get out there and interact not only to experience new, potentially great ideas but also just to make a friend because we can all use more of those.
In case you missed the recap for Day 1 of Develop Denver, check it out here.
