Table of contents
In my journey as a developer I've been privileged to meet and work with highly successful developers, and every time I tried to enquire into their secret of success, a few things keep coming up, these few elements of characteristics are common among these successful developers.
I have been able to sum these characteristics into what I call the 7Cs of highly successful developers. In this article, I explain these characteristics.
Character
My dad always told me” that talent can take you to high places, but only character can you there”. I have never seen this statement manifest anywhere else than I have seen in the development world. I've seen great talents crash down to nothing because of bad or negative characters. Character cannot be hidden; nobody wants to work with a highly talented but dangerously rebellious and disloyal developer, and nobody wants to work with or even work for a troublemaker, a talkative, a gossip, or a team breaker. Some developers are very good until you put them in a team, they will destroy and distrust the team. A developer who lacks character will sooner or later self-destruct. The good thing is that character can be learned and unlearned.
It is our responsibility to always reflect on our character regularly and make possible adjustments when and if need be.
Stop saying” they should deal with it, that’s who I am”. That’s not who you are that's who you have accepted to become. If Mr. A complains about something and Mr. B complains about the same and Mr. C complains about the same thing then, you need to check yourself.
Be humble enough to acknowledge your fault, and courageous enough to work on yourself.
Capacity
Capacity is simply the ability to “do” and “execute” capacity is accumulated energy and prowess. It takes time to build capacity, Most of the most successful developers I know are people who are very intentional about building capacity. Capacity is the summation of daily efforts and experiences, the more you do the better you become. In life especially in the field of programming and development rewards are determined by our capacity, this is why you hear things like “senior developer” and junior developer. A senior developer is not attained by age but by capacity, even in the ranks of junior or senior developers capacity differs among individuals. As I said earlier, capacity is built by doing. The earth rewards doers, the more you do, the more your capacity. Build with your coding capacity, build your creative capacity, build your problem-solving capacity, build your communication capacity, and keep building yourself until you become irresistible.
Competence
In the field of development, people are more concerned with what you can do. Competence is the manifestation of built-up capacity. What can you bring to the table? What solution can you proffer to problems, why should you be taken or chosen over another, what is unique about you, how valuable are you, or how easily dispensable are you?
Competence is the difference between the developer who is looking for a job and the developer who jobs are looking for. Competence delivers results; competence minimizes excuses and utilizes resources. The only way to become competent is capacity building, and the more competent you become the more successful you get. There is no competent developer I know who is not successful, and there's no successful developer I know who is not competent. The ball is in your court.
Charisma
To be successful everyone needs a bit of charisma. Charisma is the ability to command loyalty and attention through influence based on your personality and antecedents. The thing with charisma is that the more you develop yourself physically, mentally, spiritually, financially, and career-wise the more charisma you command.
Connection
Your success as a developer is largely dependent on your ability to appropriately connect with other developers. Be intentional about creating a valuable and solid network with other developers. A developer is only as good as his network; create relationships with people by offering them value. When you add value to people you earn their respect.
Contribution
Be eager to contribute to the development of your environment and society at large. Take advantage of every single opportunity you have to impact and positively affect the lives of the people around you. Teach people what you know, and contribute to open source projects when and if you can. Help the less privileged and those in need.
Consistency
Everything worthwhile takes time and consistency to build. Continue doing the six things you've read above, do them over and over, and let it become your lifestyle. Always check and examine your character, and be intentional about building capacity so you can become competent. Create valuable connections; make positive contributions to your society.