Leadership. No skill (rather, set of skills) will be more universally applicable throughout the entirety of your career and become more heavily weighted the higher you climb.
Are you an engineer? What skill(s) will you be leveraging most as a Director or VP of Engineering? Leadership.
Are you a designer? What skill(s) will you be leveraging most as a Director or VP of Design? Leadership.
Are you a <fill in the blank>? What skill(s) will...you get it.
Back in my time at Georgia Tech, Warren Buffet came to speak and told an anecdote about a media executive who would go play records at one of his radio stations in the middle of the night. Buffet said something to the effect of, "the farther I get into this business, the farther away I become from why I got into this business."
I started working professionally at small companies in 1997 as a "Web Developer." I finished my degree in 2004 and I've been doing software engineering since then. I'm currently a Director of Engineering at PayPal and, while my technical skills are useful, my primary role is centered around the leadership of a large team. I haven't written a line of code professionally in over a year. I share these same statements with my managers and engineers from my team. Always be developing your leadership skills--they stay with you forever.
Leadership isn't management... It will make you a good manager but if you are an engineer today, then being a leader is totally possible. Its about being proactive, helpful, thoughtful and "solutions oriented" (if you spot a problem, bring a solution or better yet two to the table with it). Be the person your peers reach out to when they are stuck.
100% agreed that leadership and management are two very different things--it's an important distinction (and one that typical conversation tends to gloss over). I hope my original comment didn't imply they were the same.
Also agreed that leaders who are NOT managers are extremely important.
Along those same lines, authority and influence are also not the same things. Managers frequently have authority, while leaders often do their jobs through influence.
Learning how to successfully apply influence with a lack of authority can be incredibly powerful.
Are you an engineer? What skill(s) will you be leveraging most as a Director or VP of Engineering? Leadership.
Are you a designer? What skill(s) will you be leveraging most as a Director or VP of Design? Leadership.
Are you a <fill in the blank>? What skill(s) will...you get it.
Back in my time at Georgia Tech, Warren Buffet came to speak and told an anecdote about a media executive who would go play records at one of his radio stations in the middle of the night. Buffet said something to the effect of, "the farther I get into this business, the farther away I become from why I got into this business."
I started working professionally at small companies in 1997 as a "Web Developer." I finished my degree in 2004 and I've been doing software engineering since then. I'm currently a Director of Engineering at PayPal and, while my technical skills are useful, my primary role is centered around the leadership of a large team. I haven't written a line of code professionally in over a year. I share these same statements with my managers and engineers from my team. Always be developing your leadership skills--they stay with you forever.