The Non-Engineer's Guide to Learning AI, Part 2
The Learning Code: 3 Essential Ways to Build Tech Skills for Non-Engineers
It seems that our entire world is now running on code. Everything from phones and cars to tools like Gmail and WhatsApp rely on code. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has increased general knowledge of AI and accelerated the technology revolution.
In 2011, Marc Andreessen famously said, “software is eating the world.” In 2024, we can say with confidence, “AI is eating the world.”
With the speed of AI development and all the code supporting digital transformations, many leaders are wondering:
What do I really need to know about technology to be a successful leader?
Can I be a successful leader without coding?
The good news is that most of us don’t need to learn how to code.
We do need to learn how things are built and how to collaborate and manage people who build them.
Leaders have to go beyond their usual training and adopt three learning principles to become successful in a technology world.
While not all of us can code, all of us are capable of problem-solving.
Principle 1: Learn by Doing
Stepping into a tech leadership role without coding experience is daunting. It’s a common fear among non-engineers, and I was no exception. When I was offered my Chief of Staff role overseeing over 400 engineers, I worried that I didn’t know enough about technology, much less ever written a line of code (unless you count excel macros).
I've negotiated multi-billion dollar mergers, interfaced with the world's most astute financiers and business leaders, and built an innovation business for a global consultancy. However, managing hundreds of engineers was a new challenge.
Determined to bridge my knowledge gap, I learned Python. It was like learning a foreign language.
One day, I had a conversation with my colleague. I asked for help with my Python homework.
To my surprise, he said, "Joselle, you know I haven't written code in quite some time."
I retorted, "What do you do all day?"
He said, "Manage 200 humans."
Touché.
This conversation was a turning point for me, shifting my perspective to the bigger picture of what it means to lead in a tech environment.
Fast forward, we led the team through a global pandemic, invested in modernizing the tech stack that served as launching point for many useful products that help over 900Million people find jobs and learn, and grew the team to over 700 members.
Pro tip: Read The Non-Engineer's Guide to Learning AI, Part 1 for a curated guide to kickstart your AI learning journey.
Principle 2: Learn from Others Who’ve Done It
We hear more stories of engineering tech founders and leaders like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Satya Nadella. This makes us believe that the tech world is primarily an engineer’s world.
While finding stories of non-technical professionals who have succeeded in tech is harder, they exist!
Airbnb’s Brian Chesky, Pinterest’s Evan Sharp, and StitchFix’s Katrina Lake are all non-technical founders who built billion-dollar businesses that change lives worldwide. They led technology teams, made the right investments, and hired the right talent to round out their skillsets.
Learning how they did it—and what they had to learn about technology —serves as blueprints and inspiration.
Pro tip: Read: 10 Startups Founded by Non-Tech Founders for inspiration.
Principle 3: Learn the New Ways of Building
Only 0.3% of the world can code.
This poses a talent gap, more acute given the increasing demands of development teams. I saw the impacts of the war on developer talent first-hand at LinkedIn. Even with a strong developer brand, competition for talent was fierce.
That’s why I’m excited about the rise of no-code tools. New no-code tools provide faster, cost-effective ways of building. As leaders, finding smarter ways to support your team and generate results with higher ROIs is essential. No-code and low-code approaches to building offer just that.
Some common no-code apps are Canva (beautiful designs), Typeform (interactive surveys), Zapier (API connector). One of my personal favorite tools is Notion where I manage teams, workload, content / product launches.
Pro Tip: Read: No-Code Is The Future Of Software and When Low-Code/No-Code Development Works — and When It Doesn’t for a briefer on no-code
Next Action
Experiment with no-code by downloading the Strategy Toolkit - a customizable tech stack with 10 Essential Strategy Frameworks & Planning tools.
Go for it!
Have fun no-coding.
Conclusion
Tech leadership isn’t about knowing how to code; it’s about leveraging your unique strengths to lead and innovate. Embrace the learning code, and step confidently into your role. Use no-code tools, learn from successful non-technical founders, and build your tech skills by doing. You’ll be the tech leader you aspire to be in no time!
Share your learning adventures with us on our LinkedIn Page.
Read widely, learn deeply, be On Point.
Joselle
Be the leader you aspire to be with On Point.