“Associate Director.”

I remember reading that title again.

And again.

And one more time, just to be sure.

“Wait… this is me?”

It did not feel real.

Not because I did not want it. But because I never really planned for it.

Rewind a Bit

Most of my journey has been… accidental.

Not careless. Just not over-engineered.

I did not sit down and say, “I want to be in leadership in X years.”

I just:

  • wrote code
  • broke things
  • fixed them
  • shared what I learned
  • helped people along the way

Repeat.

Somewhere in between explaining JavaScript for the 100th time and debugging layout issues that made no sense…

I got hooked on something else.

“Watching people grow.”

That one moment when someone goes from “I don’t get this” to “Oh. That’s it?”

That is addictive.

The Message That Changed Things

Then came a message.

A simple one.

From “Ashley Kupaza” and “Matthew Heathcote”.

Nothing dramatic. Just a conversation starter.

But that is the thing about opportunities.

“They rarely look like opportunities at the start.”

One conversation led to another.

Then another.

And before I knew it, I was deep in a process that actually felt… human.

The Process That Felt Different

I have done enough interviews to know the usual pattern.

This was not that.

“Neelima Divi” and “Derek Ferguson” made the entire process feel less like an evaluation and more like a conversation.

No unnecessary pressure. No artificial barriers. Just real discussions.

And that makes a difference.

A big one.

Fast Forward

I walk into Fitch Group.

New role.

Associate Director of UI Core Architecture.

New city energy. New team. New expectations.

Same me.

Still opening DevTools first thing in the morning. Still getting excited about small fixes. Still saying “this should be simple” before it absolutely is not.

The First Month

Chaos.

The good kind.

“Everything is new” kind of chaos.

New domain. New tech. New problems.

A lot of: “I have never done this before.”

Perfect.

Because that is exactly where I want to be.

In just a short time:

  • I stepped into areas I had never explored before
  • I am leading a Hackathon
  • I am learning faster than I expected

And most importantly, I am back to being a beginner in many ways.

That is a good place to be.

So What Is Leadership, Really?

Let me be honest.

I do not see this as “I made it.”

I see this as:

“I have more responsibility to help others make it.”

That is it.

Leadership, for me, is not:

  • titles
  • hierarchy
  • authority

It is:

  • removing friction
  • enabling people
  • creating space for others to grow

“Mentoring. Just… at scale.”

The Pattern I Cannot Ignore

Looking back, there is a pattern.

Every good thing that happened came from:

  • sharing what I know
  • helping someone without expecting anything back
  • staying curious
  • saying yes to conversations

Not from perfect planning.

“Serendipity works. You just have to show up for it.”

And Yes, We Are Hiring

Had to say it.

If you are into Full Stack or Data Science, and if you enjoy learning by doing, you will probably enjoy this ride.

Reach out.

I am always happy to help or refer, as long as you have not applied recently.

Let Me Leave You With This

If you are waiting to feel “ready” before taking the next step…

You might wait forever.

“Most of the time, you grow into the role. Not before it.”

This is one of those times for me.

And I am all in.