What advice do you have for others who want to grow into senior / leadership roles?
Iliyan is only too keen to share his advice with others taking on the challenge of moving into senior roles.
“When you’re at the junior and mid level, it’s vital you build your technical skills. It’s not about drilling down into a specific technology. It’s about really understanding technical concepts and approaches. That way, you can use technology to deliver concepts, not the other way round.”
“At the junior and mid level, work to become autonomous – build trust in your skills and seek opportunities to take ownership of projects. This isn’t about working in isolation or pretending you don’t need help – collaborating and seeking advice is crucial. It's more about showing confidence in what you know, and having a structured approach to what you don’t.”
As Iliyan explains, this technical foundation allows you to push towards senior positions.
“The next stage? Work on your communication skills – great leaders are great communicators. Communication skills are also fundamental for building up your professional network, and getting to know people.”
“Finally, build empathy. Work to understand people, their needs, fears, and motivations. That’s the key to really helping people, and ensuring your guidance and advice adds real value. It’s also a key part of others seeing you as a leader.”