The archetype of a technical leader is often narrowly defined, frequently painting a picture of an individual with a linear career path forged exclusively in computer science and software engineering. This narrative, while common, overlooks a vast and growing pool of talent that arrives in the tech industry from diverse and unconventional backgrounds. The story of Sarai Fernandez, a Sr. Curriculum Manager leading content in data, AI, and security, serves as a powerful case study in redefining what a programming leader looks like. Her journey did not begin in a server room or a startup garage, but in the halls of academia and the dynamic, challenging environment of a K-8 classroom.
This non-traditional trajectory is becoming increasingly valuable in an industry that is grappling with complex human problems, not just technical ones. Leaders who have experience in fields like education, humanities, or social sciences bring a different lens to their work. They often possess a highly developed set of power skills, such as empathy, communication, and adaptability, which are essential for managing modern technical teams. Sarai’s story is a testament to the idea that a passion for technology combined with a deep-seated interest in human development and learning can create a uniquely effective and resilient type of leader, one who can navigate both the complexities of code and the nuances of people.
The Academic Roots of a Programming Mindset
Sarai’s journey into the technical world began not with a pure computer science degree, but with an interdisciplinary program in Symbolic Systems. This field of study is a fascinating blend of computer science, linguistics, logic, and cognitive science, essentially exploring the relationship between human and artificial intelligence. This academic foundation, while not a straightforward software engineering track, provided an ideal fertile ground for her future career. It encouraged a way of thinking that is perfectly suited for technology—analyzing complex systems, understanding logical structures, and exploring how information is processed and communicated, whether by a human brain or a computer.
This interdisciplinary approach honed her analytical and coding knowledge while grounding it in a human-centric context. Instead of just learning how to code, her studies likely prompted her to ask why we code—how do we build systems that are intuitive, logical, and effective for the people who use them? This early exposure to the intersection of human cognition and computing would later become a cornerstone of her work in curriculum development, where the primary challenge is to make highly technical concepts accessible and understandable to human learners. It was a foundation built on critical thinking, not just on memorizing programming syntax.
The Spark of Education: Discovering a Passion for Teaching
During her university years, a parallel passion began to emerge: a deep and abiding interest in education. This interest was first sparked in high school through tutoring, where she discovered an immediate fulfillment in the process of helping others learn and grasp difficult concepts. This was not a passing hobby; it was a core part of her identity that continued to grow. This passion for teaching and mentorship became a defining thread that would weave its way through her entire career, often in unexpected ways. It provided a sense of purpose that complemented her technical interests.
This realization—that she was as passionate about pedagogy as she was about programming—is a key differentiator. Many technical professionals are skilled in their domain, but far fewer are equally skilled at or interested in transferring that knowledge to others. Sarai’s early recognition of this dual passion set her on a unique path. She was not just a technologist; she was an educator at heart. This intrinsic motivation to help others succeed is a hallmark of great leaders, and it was a skill she began consciously developing long before she ever had a formal management title.
From Peer to Mentor: The TA Experience
Her passion for education found a practical outlet during her sophomore year when she became a teaching assistant for her university’s introductory programming course. This role was a pivotal moment in her journey. It was her first formal experience blending her technical knowledge with her teaching skills in a challenging, fast-paced academic environment. As a TA, she was not just a grader; she was a mentor, a guide, and a problem-solver, helping her peers navigate the often-frustrating early stages of learning to code. This is where she found fulfillment in supporting others’ learning journeys and, in the process, began to build confidence in her own programming abilities.
The act of teaching is one of the most effective ways to deepen one’s own understanding. In breaking down complex programming concepts for her peers, Sarai was forced to refine her own knowledge, solidifying her grasp of the fundamentals. This role was also her first real laboratory for leadership. She was developing critical skills in communication, problem-solving, and patience. She learned how to explain a single concept in multiple ways to reach different learners and how to motivate students who were struggling. These are the very skills that define effective technical management.
The Value of an Interdisciplinary Foundation
An undergraduate degree in a field like Symbolic Systems is a powerful example of the value of an interdisciplinary foundation. In a world where technology is deeply interwoven with every aspect of human life, leaders who can think across boundaries are invaluable. A purely technical education can sometimes create blind spots, focusing on the “what” (the code) without fully considering the “who” (the user) or the “why” (the purpose). An interdisciplinary background, however, trains a person to see the connections between disparate fields.
This ability to connect linguistics to programming, or cognitive science to user interface design, is a form of “systems thinking.” It allows a leader to approach a problem from multiple angles and to communicate with a wider range of specialists. For someone who would eventually manage curriculum for data, AI, and security, this foundation is particularly relevant. These fields are not just about code; they are about logic, language, human behavior, and ethics. Her academic background prepared her to be a leader who could grasp this bigger, more complex picture.
Bridging Theory and Practice in Early Career Choices
After graduation, Sarai was faced with a choice: how to reconcile her two passions for technology and education. Her academic career had given her a strong theoretical foundation in computer science, while her experience as a TA had ignited a love for teaching. This led her to her first post-graduation role, one that perfectly synthesized these two interests: a job at a private school where she was hired not just to teach computer science, but to design the entire curriculum for students from kindergarten to 8th grade.
This was an incredibly ambitious undertaking for a recent graduate. It was a role that would demand not just teaching ability, but also high-level strategic planning, curriculum design, and stakeholder management. She was essentially a department of one, tasked with building a comprehensive computer science program from the ground up. This decision demonstrates her early comfort with leadership and her excitement for building systems, whether those systems were made of code or of lesson plans. It was a role that would challenge her in ways a traditional junior developer job never could.
The First Foray: Accepting the Post-Grad Challenge
The role of designing and teaching a K-8 computer science curriculum was a crucible that would forge the skills for her entire future career. The school’s administrators did not just want a teacher to follow a script; they wanted an architect. This meant Sarai had to build a cohesive, engaging, and age-appropriate program from scratch. She developed lessons on a wide range of topics, from visual-based block coding for the youngest students to real-world programming languages like Python, JavaScript, and HTML/CSS for the older middle schoolers. She also incorporated foundational concepts like computational thinking.
This role was a masterclass in adaptability and communication. She had to collaborate with other teachers and specialists to create relevant, cross-curricular projects, proving the value of computer skills in other subjects. This required her to communicate the “why” of her curriculum to other educators, to administrators, and to parents. She was, in effect, a product manager, a department head, and a lead instructor all rolled into one. The challenge of this role cannot be overstated, and it was here that she truly honed the resilience and critical thinking that would define her leadership style.
Why Tech Welcomes Diverse Academic Backgrounds
Sarai’s story is part of a larger, positive trend in the technology industry: the growing recognition that diverse academic and professional backgrounds are a major asset. The industry has learned that teams composed entirely of people with identical training can suffer from a lack of creativity and a narrow perspective. Leaders with backgrounds in education, like Sarai, bring a deep understanding of how people learn, which is mission-critical for a company in the education technology space. It is also invaluable for managing and mentoring a team.
Leaders from the humanities or liberal arts bring strong critical thinking and communication skills. Those from design or psychology backgrounds bring a deep empathy for the end-user. As technology becomes more human-centric, these “power skills” are no longer “soft”; they are essential. Sarai’s early career choices, which may have seemed like a detour from a “serious” tech path, were in fact the perfect preparation for a leadership role that required her to be a programmer, a teacher, a strategist, and a mentor all at once.
The Classroom as a Leadership Laboratory
A K-8 classroom is one of the most dynamic and demanding leadership environments in any profession. A teacher is not just a content-deliverer; they are a manager, a mediator, a strategist, and a motivational speaker, all at once. For Sarai, her time spent designing and teaching a full computer science curriculum was a leadership laboratory where she honed the exact “power skills” that are notoriously difficult to teach in a corporate setting. The daily challenges of managing a diverse group of young learners, each with different needs and personalities, provided a crucible for forging the adaptability, communication, and critical thinking skills that would later define her management style.
In this environment, her role was not just to teach Python or Scratch; it was to build a functioning, collaborative, and respectful learning community. She was responsible for long-range strategic planning (the curriculum arc) and moment-to-moment crisis management (an unexpected question or a technical glitch). This experience, which some in the corporate world might dismiss as “just teaching,” was in fact a high-stakes masterclass in people management. The skills she developed here were not just “soft skills”; they were core leadership competencies that would prove directly transferable to managing a team of technical professionals.
The Art of Communication: From Second Graders to Stakeholders
One of the most critical skills Sarai mastered in the classroom was the art of differentiated communication. A teacher must be able to explain the same concept—for example, the logic of a “loop”—to a second grader, a sixth grader, a fellow teacher, and a school administrator. Each audience requires a completely different approach, a different vocabulary, and a different way of framing the “value” of the concept. For a second grader, the value is in making a game do something fun. For an administrator, the value is in how the lesson meets educational standards and develops critical thinking.
This is exactly the skill that a technical manager needs. On any given day, a manager might need to explain a complex technical trade-off to a non-technical stakeholder, then dive into a deep architectural debate with a senior engineer, and then provide clear, encouraging feedback to a junior team member. Sarai’s experience in the classroom gave her a unique ability to refine her communication, to read her audience, and to effectively convey the value of an idea to “whoever the audience was.” This ability to translate complexity into clarity is a superpower in technical leadership.
Adaptability as a Core Tenet: When the Lesson Plan Changes
No plan, however well-crafted, survives first contact with a room full of second graders. The same is often true for a software development sprint. A teacher may have a perfect lesson plan, but an unexpected question, a technical failure, or a sudden shift in the students’ energy can require them to pivot in an instant. This environment demands an exceptionally high degree of adaptability and agility. Sarai learned that while having a plan is essential, being able to deviate from that plan in a thoughtful way is just as important.
This skill is directly applicable to managing a technical team. A project roadmap may be clear, but a new technology emerges, a key team member gets sick, or user feedback reveals a critical flaw in the original design. A manager who is rigid and cannot adapt will struggle, but a leader like Sarai, who was trained in an environment of constant change, learns to be “really adaptable.” She understands how to recalibrate, to adjust the plan without losing sight of the goal, and to manage the team’s morale and focus during that change.
Critical Thinking and Curriculum Design
Designing a full K-8 computer science curriculum from scratch is a massive exercise in critical thinking and systems design. It is not just a collection of fun projects; it is a complex, multi-year plan that must be cohesive, sequential, and standards-based. Sarai had to ask and answer a series of difficult questions: What are the fundamental concepts of computational thinking? At what age is it appropriate to introduce text-based programming like Python? How do lessons in the 3rd grade build a foundation for skills needed in the 7th grade?
This is identical to the critical thinking required to build a technical product or a curriculum for adult learners. A manager must be able to design a long-term content strategy for a “data science” path, ensuring that the “Introduction to Python” course provides the necessary foundation for the “Machine Learning” course that comes later. This role challenged her critical thinking skills, forcing her to be an architect of a large-scale educational system. This experience gave her a deep, practical understanding of instructional design that would be impossible to gain from a traditional software engineering role.
Time Management: Juggling a K-8 Curriculum
The sheer logistical challenge of being the sole computer science teacher and curriculum designer for nine different grade levels (K-8) is a masterclass in time management and prioritization. This role required Sarai to constantly juggle the long-term strategic work of curriculum development with the immediate, day-to-day tactical work of teaching classes, grading projects, and collaborating with other teachers. She had to manage her time not just in hour-long blocks, but in 45-minute increments, all while preparing for the next class with a different age group.
This is the daily reality of a technical manager. A manager’s day is a constant stream of context-switching—moving from a one-on-one meeting with a direct report, to a high-level strategy session with leadership, to a deep-dive code review, to an urgent production issue. The ability to manage these competing priorities, to protect one’s own “focus time” for deep work, and to keep multiple projects moving forward simultaneously is essential. Her experience in the K-8 environment was the perfect training for the high-pressure, interrupt-driven world of corporate management.
Building Cross-Curricular Bridges: The Precursor to Cross-Functional Teams
In her role as an educator, Sarai did not work in a silo. The article notes that she “collaborated with other teachers and specialists to create relevant, cross-curricular lessons and projects.” This is a profoundly important skill. It meant she had to go to the art teacher and the history teacher and find ways to integrate computer science into their lessons, helping to “develop the student’s computer skills” in a meaningful context. This required negotiation, collaboration, and a willingness to find common ground.
This is the exact definition of cross-functional collaboration in a corporate setting. A curriculum manager does not work alone; they must partner with product managers, marketing teams, data scientists, and software engineers to create a successful learning product. Her early experience building these cross-curricular bridges gave her the skills to navigate complex organizational structures and to build the alliances necessary to get a project completed. She learned how to be a partner, not just a service provider, which is a key attribute of a successful technical leader.
Patience and Resilience: Handling Classroom and Corporate Challenges
Teaching young learners requires a near-superhuman level of patience. Explaining a concept for the tenth time with the same level of enthusiasm as the first is a daily requirement. This, combined with the administrative demands and the lack of work-life balance, can lead to extreme stress and burnout. The article explicitly states that the demands of teaching eventually resulted in Sarai experiencing this burnout. While this was a difficult period, it was also a formative one. It taught her about her own limits and the critical importance of finding a sustainable way to pursue her career.
This experience also helped her build a “thick skin” and a high degree of resilience. This resilience was tested early in her corporate career when she “came toe to toe with a colleague who doubted her expertise.” Because she had already faced the daily challenges of a demanding teaching role, she was better prepared to handle corporate adversity. She learned to “rely on her own knowledge and what she believed was right,” building a core of self-assurance that is essential for any leader who needs to make difficult decisions.
The Reality of Educator Burnout
The passion that drives many educators is often met with a challenging and unsustainable reality. Sarai’s story is a common one: a dedicated teacher who poured her energy into her role, only to be met with the overwhelming demands that lead to burnout. The “lack of work life balance” is a well-documented issue in the teaching profession. The work does not end when the last bell rings; it follows educators home in the form of lesson planning, grading, and administrative tasks. For Sarai, this fulfillment was in direct conflict with her need for a sustainable career.
This difficult realization forced a period of introspection. She knew she still wanted to help others learn, but she recognized that her current path was not viable for her long-term well-being. This moment of burnout was not an end, but a catalyst. It was the critical turning point that prompted her to seek a new career path, one that could provide a better balance while still honoring her core passions for technology and education. This search for sustainability is a common story for many professionals who transition from high-intensity, mission-driven fields into the corporate tech world.
Seeking a Sustainable Career Path
The search for a new career began with a clear set of objectives. Sarai was “looking for a balance between teaching others, using her programming expertise, and having time to live her life outside of work.” This was not just a job hunt; it was a deliberate effort to redesign her professional life. She was not abandoning her passions; she was looking for a new container for them. She identified the education technology, or “ed-tech,” space as the ideal environment to achieve this synthesis. The ed-tech field sits at the perfect intersection of her two areas of expertise.
The ed-tech industry is built by people who believe in the power of education but are also technologists at heart. It is a field dedicated to using software, data, and new instructional models to make learning more accessible, scalable, and effective. For Sarai, this was a natural fit. It was a world where her unique background as both a programmer and a K-8 curriculum architect was not just a curiosity, but a highly relevant and valuable asset. She could continue her mission to help others learn, but in a new, more sustainable corporate context.
The First Role: From Teacher to Curriculum Developer
In 2019, Sarai successfully made the pivot, landing her first role in the ed-tech industry as a Curriculum Developer at an e-learning company. This role was a perfect bridge from her previous experience. While the audience and platform were different, the fundamental skills were the same. She was still designing learning experiences. However, instead of managing a classroom of students, her new role involved collaborating with high-level technical subject matter experts (SMEs) who specialized in complex, enterprise-level topics like Java, cloud computing, and cybersecurity.
Her primary task was to “design active and project-based learning experiences.” This meant she was the instructional designer, the pedagogical expert who could take an SME’s raw technical knowledge and transform it into a course that was engaging, effective, and built around hands-on projects. This was a direct application of the skills she had honed building her K-8 curriculum. She was once again the translator, bridging the gap between deep technical expertise and the needs of a new learner. This role allowed her to focus purely on the design of learning, a core part of her passion.
Learning the Corporate Ropes: Partnering with Subject Matter Experts
This new role as a Curriculum Developer presented a different set of challenges and learning opportunities. The transition from being the sole expert in a K-8 school to being a collaborator with senior-level SMEs required her to refine her cross-functional skills. She was no longer the one with all the technical answers; she was the one who knew how to ask the right questions. She had to learn how to partner with these experts, respect their deep knowledge, and guide them in a way that would result in a high-quality learning product.
This experience was crucial for her development. She was honing her curriculum development skills in a new context and learning the rhythms of a corporate environment. She was building relationships with a diverse set of technical professionals and proving her value not just as an educator, but as a colleague who could help them successfully share their knowledge. This period was about absorbing as much as she could about the business of e-learning and the specific challenges of teaching advanced technical topics to adult, professional learners.
The Drive for the Next Challenge: Knowing When to Move Forward
After a year in this role, Sarai felt that she had “learned everything she could in her current role and was ready to continue moving forward in her career.” This is a key insight into her professional character: a constant drive for growth and a desire to be challenged. She had successfully made the pivot from the classroom to the corporate world. She had proven her skills as a curriculum developer and had found the work-life balance she was seeking. But she was not content to stay stagnant. She was ready to take on more responsibility and to continue developing her skills.
This drive led her to her next opportunity in 2021, when she joined a major tech education organization as a Sr. Curriculum Developer. This new role was a significant step up, as it was a move to a company renowned for its focus on making programming content accessible to everyone. It was also a more specialized role, allowing her to focus on the critical and fast-growing domain of cybersecurity course development. This move aligned perfectly with her desire for a new challenge and her mission-driven interest in making technical education more accessible.
Aligning with a Mission: The Importance of “Why”
Joining her new organization was not just a career move; it was a mission-based decision. The article notes that she “aligned with [the company’s] mission of making programming and developer content more accessible for anyone looking to learn to code.” This is a powerful motivator for many professionals, especially those, like Sarai, who come from an education background. The “why” of the work is just as important as the “what.” She was not just developing courses; she was part of a larger movement to democratize technical education.
This alignment between her personal values and the company’s mission created a fertile ground for her to thrive. It was in this new, mission-driven environment that she would have the opportunity to take the next major leap in her career. Her technical expertise in programming, combined with her deep pedagogical knowledge and her growing specialty in cybersecurity, positioned her as a key contributor. It was here that her power skills and coding expertise would be put to the test when a new leadership opportunity unexpectedly opened up.
From Peer to Manager: A New Kind of Challenge
Sarai’s career trajectory at her new organization was about to take a significant and unplanned turn. After establishing herself as a highly competent Sr. Curriculum Developer, a team lead position opened up. This was a pivotal moment. The company, recognizing her potential, asked her to serve as the interim manager for the team. This transition, from being a peer and a colleague to being a manager, is one of the most difficult and complex challenges in any career. It shifts the focus from one’s individual contributions to the success and output of an entire team.
This “interim” role was a trial by fire. It was an opportunity for the company to assess her leadership capabilities, but more importantly, it was an opportunity for Sarai to “test her own skills and see if people management was really the direction she wanted to head in.” She was moving from “doing the work” (developing curriculum) to “leading the work” (providing direction to the team). This required a completely new set of skills, perspectives, and responsibilities, forcing her to operate outside of her comfort zone.
Navigating the New Manager’s Self-Doubt
The transition to people management, especially for someone who has been a high-performing individual contributor, is almost always accompanied by a significant amount of self-doubt. The article highlights the very real and universal questions that ran through Sarai’s mind, questions that plague almost every new manager: “Do I truly know the right answer? Am I going to make the right decision? Will people listen to me? Do I have the right amount of expertise? What do I do if people don’t listen to me or if things don’t go right?”
These questions are a classic manifestation of imposter syndrome, a feeling of inadequacy despite a track record of success. For a leader in a technical field, this can be even more acute. There is often a fear that you must be the most technically proficient person on the team to be respected. Sarai’s journey through this period of self-doubt is a critical part of her leadership story. It demonstrates that leadership is not about having all the answers, but about having the courage to lead despite the uncertainty.
The Imposter Syndrome in Technical Leadership
The specific anxieties Sarai faced are worth exploring in detail, as they are so common in technical leadership. The fear “Do I truly know the right answer?” is a trap that snares many new managers. They believe their job is to be the ultimate source of knowledge and the final technical authority. This can lead to micromanagement and a reluctance to delegate. The reality, as Sarai would come to learn, is that a manager’s job is not to have all the answers, but to build a team that can find all the answers. The goal is to facilitate, not to dictate.
The fear “Will people listen to me?” is especially poignant for someone transitioning from a peer role. It is a shift from a relationship based on camaraderie to one based on authority. This, combined with her non-traditional background, could have exacerbated this anxiety. She had to learn that leadership is not about commanding authority through a title, but about earning respect through competence, clear communication, and a genuine commitment to the team’s success. Her journey was about finding an authentic leadership style that was not based on intimidation, but on empowerment.
A Six-Month Leadership Audition
Sarai’s six months as an interim manager served as a real-world leadership audition. This period allowed her to move past her initial self-doubt and to actively practice the art of management. She found herself “loving the opportunity to provide direction to the team and help her peers as they refined their instructional design skills.” This is a crucial distinction. She did not fall in love with the status of being a manager; she fell in love with the act of management—the teaching, the mentoring, and the empowerment of others. This is the mark of a true, service-oriented leader.
During these six months, she was no longer just a developer; she was a force multiplier. Her success was no longer measured by the curriculum she personally produced, but by the quality of the curriculum her entire team produced. She was learning how to delegate, how to review work constructively, and how to align the team’s efforts with the company’s broader strategic goals. She was actively learning the role on the job, demonstrating her capability through action rather than through a pre-existing management resume.
The Power of Proactive Communication: Asking for the Promotion
The end of the six-month interim period is perhaps the most telling moment in Sarai’s leadership journey. The company had not found a “suitable replacement.” At this point, a more passive individual might have simply waited, hoping their hard work would be recognized. Sarai, however, took a proactive and confident approach. She had spent six months learning the team, understanding the responsibilities of the role, and proving her own abilities. She knew she was the best person for the job.
She approached the department head and “formally requested the promotion.” This single act demonstrates a high degree of self-assurance and a willingness to advocate for her own career. It was a move that showed she had graduated from her earlier self-doubt. She was not asking for a chance; she was stating a fact that her performance had already proven. This decisiveness and confidence are key leadership traits, and her initiative was a clear signal that she was ready to take on the role permanently.
From Teacher to Manager: The Leadership Skills in Focus
Her journey from K-8 teacher to expert curriculum developer to, finally, a senior manager was a testament to the power of her unique combination of skills. The article notes that she “exhibited exceptional leadership skills like communication, decision-making, agility and compassion.” These were not skills she suddenly learned in her interim role; they were the very skills she had been cultivating since her first days as a TA and her time managing a K-8 classroom. Her compassion and communication skills came from her teaching background. Her agility came from the need to adapt lesson plans on the fly.
Her decision-making skills were honed by the daily responsibilities of her job. She had reinforced her belief in her own coding abilities, her ability to lead with care, and, most importantly, her self-assurance. She was not a traditional tech manager, and that had become her greatest strength. She had a proven ability to lead with both competence (the technical and instructional design expertise) and compassion (the people-centric skills from teaching), making her the ideal candidate to lead a team of highly skilled curriculum developers.
The New Role: A Synthesis of All Skills
Sarai’s promotion to Sr. Manager of all data, AI, and security content for the organization was the culmination of her entire journey. This new, expanded role is a perfect synthesis of all her past experiences. She now leads a global team of instructional designers and content strategists, a role that requires all the skills she has gathered. Her technical foundation allows her to speak credibly with her team about complex topics in AI and cybersecurity. Her deep pedagogical knowledge from her teaching days allows her to guide their instructional design strategy.
Her management experience, forged in the six-month interim period, allows her to lead this global team with confidence. She is responsible for the entire content lifecycle, from strategy to creation, for some of the most critical and fast-moving topics in technology. This high-level, strategic role is a direct result of her unique, interdisciplinary path. She did not just “end up” in this role; she was uniquely prepared for it by a career that consistently blended a passion for technology with a deep and abiding commitment to the art of education.
A Management Philosophy Rooted in Pedagogy
At the heart of Sarai’s leadership style is a simple, powerful, and effective methodology drawn directly from the world of education: the “I do, we do, you do” method. This is a classic pedagogical framework used by teachers worldwide to build student confidence and ensure mastery of a new skill. It is a model of scaffolding, where the teacher gradually releases responsibility to the learner as their competence grows. As a manager, Sarai has adapted this classroom technique into a comprehensive and compassionate management philosophy, one that is perfectly suited for developing a high-performing technical team.
This approach is a profound departure from the “sink or swim” or “command and control” management styles often found in high-pressure tech environments. It is a philosophy that prioritizes employee development and psychological safety. It recognizes that building confidence and competence is a process, not an event. By following this method, Sarai creates a clear, supportive path for her direct reports to tackle new challenges, refine their skills, and ultimately grow into autonomous, empowered professionals. It is, in effect, a curriculum for developing talent.
Deconstructing “I Do”: Modeling Excellence
The first stage of the framework is “I do.” In a classroom, this is when the teacher stands at the front of the room and demonstrates how to solve a problem. In a management context, this is where Sarai models excellence and sets a clear standard for the work. For example, if a team member is new to designing a complex project, the “I do” phase might involve Sarai personally leading the design process for the first project. The team member “shadows” her, observing how she gathers requirements, how she structures the project plan, and how she communicates with subject matter experts.
This stage is not about showing off or micromanaging; it is about providing a clear, high-quality example. It answers the question, “What does ‘good’ look like?” By demonstrating the process herself, Sarai provides a concrete benchmark and demystifies a complex task. This is the “I do.” The team member has seen her do it, and they have a clear model to follow. This is a crucial first step, as it provides a safe and clear starting point for a new and challenging responsibility, reducing the anxiety of a blank page.
The Importance of a Clear Demonstration in Technical Work
In a technical field like curriculum development for AI and cybersecurity, the “I do” phase is particularly critical. The work is complex, and the standards for accuracy and pedagogical effectiveness are incredibly high. A manager simply telling a team member to “go design a new cybersecurity course” is an abdication of responsibility. By modeling the process, Sarai is transferring her institutional and expert knowledge in a practical, observable way. Her team gets to see how she thinks.
This demonstration phase establishes a shared vocabulary and a consistent methodology for the entire team. It ensures that everyone is aligned on the key principles of instructional design, the proper way to collaborate with experts, and the quality bar for the final product. It is an act of “showing, not just telling.” This initial modeling is an investment that pays dividends later, as it prevents misunderstandings and ensures that the entire team is building upon a shared foundation of best practices. It sets the stage for the next, more collaborative phase of learning.
Deconstructing “We Do”: The Power of Guided Practice
After the team member has seen the task modeled, the process moves to the “we do” stage. This is the most collaborative and, arguably, the most important phase for building confidence. In this stage, the team member practices the new skill, but with Sarai as an active partner and a safety net. This is the guided practice. Using the previous example, for the next project, the team member might take the lead on the design, but they do it with Sarai. They might sit down together to draft the project plan, or the team member might lead the meeting with the subject matter expert while Sarai is in the room to support them.
This “we do” phase is a bridge between passive observation and full autonomy. It gives the employee a chance to apply their new knowledge in a low-stakes environment. They can try, and possibly stumble, with the knowledge that their manager is there to help, guide, and correct. This is where Sarai can refine their instructional design skills in real-time, offering gentle feedback and asking probing questions. This collaborative practice is where true learning and confidence are forged.
Collaborative Work as a Confidence-Building Tool
The “we do” stage is a powerful confidence-builder because it is designed for safe failure. A manager who only waits for the final product to give feedback creates a high-stress environment where employees are afraid to make mistakes. In contrast, the “we do” model creates a partnership. It reframes the manager as a coach and a collaborator, not just as an evaluator. When a team member is working on a task with their manager, they are more likely to ask questions, admit when they are unsure, and take creative risks.
This guided practice helps to “build my teams confidence,” as Sarai notes, because it provides a clear path to success. The employee is never left to feel isolated or overwhelmed. They are given a chance to practice and refine their approach before they are in a high-pressure situation on their own. This methodology is a direct antidote to the imposter syndrome that Sarai herself faced. It is a systematic way of turning self-doubt into proven competence through shared experience and supportive feedback.
Deconstructing “You Do”: Fostering Autonomy and Trust
The final stage of the framework is “you do.” After the employee has observed the task (“I do”) and practiced it with guidance (“we do”), they are now ready to take it on themselves. In this phase, Sarai steps back and empowers the team member to take full ownership of the project. They are now the one leading the design, collaborating with the experts, and making the key decisions. This is the “you do”—they go off and do it themselves, without their manager in the room.
This stage is a powerful demonstration of trust. By stepping back, Sarai is sending a clear message to her employee: “I trust your competence. I know you can do this.” This autonomy is a massive motivator and the final, critical step in building lasting self-assurance. The employee is no. longer just following a model; they are integrating the skills into their own practice and developing their own unique style. This is the ultimate goal of the framework: to move an employee from dependence to independence.
Applying the Model to a Technical Curriculum Team
We can see how this model applies perfectly to Sarai’s team of instructional designers and content strategists. For a new instructional designer, the “I do” might be Sarai leading a review of a course outline, showing exactly what she looks for. The “we do” might be the designer and Sarai co-reviewing another course, discussing their feedback together. The “you do” is the designer confidently leading that review process on their own, upholding the team’s quality standards.
For a content strategist, the “I do” might be Sarai developing a new content strategy for an emerging technology, showing her research and data analysis. The “we do” might be the strategist and Sarai collaborating on the next strategy document. The “you do” is the strategist independently researching a new field and presenting a full, data-backed content plan to the team. This model provides a clear, repeatable process for upskilling her team across all their key responsibilities, ensuring that her team is just as competent and confident as she is.
The Long-Term Benefit: A Competent and Empowered Team
The “I do, we do, you do” philosophy is more than just a training technique; it is a long-term strategy for building a highly competent, resilient, and empowered team. A team that is developed through this model is not just a group of individuals who are good at following directions. They are a group of professionals who have been mentored, coached, and trusted. They have a deep understanding of the “why” behind their work, not just the “how.” They are more confident in their skills, more willing to take on new challenges, and more capable of solving problems independently.
By instilling this confidence and competence in her team, Sarai not only empowers her direct reports but also creates a supportive and high-performing environment. This allows her to focus on her own high-level strategic work, secure in the knowledge that her team is capable of executing with excellence. This philosophy, born in a K-8 classroom, has become the engine of her success as a senior manager in a fast-paced technology company, proving that the best leaders are, at their core, the best teachers.
The Inevitable Adversity of Leadership
A core reality of any leadership role is that it comes with adversity. A manager is often the buffer between the team and the broader organization, navigating competing priorities, tight deadlines, and complex interpersonal dynamics. For leaders who come from non-traditional backgrounds, this adversity can sometimes take on a more personal dimension. They may face skepticism from colleagues who adhere to a more conventional idea of what a technical leader should look like. Sarai’s story is no exception, and her experience in dealing with these challenges is a key part of her leadership DNA.
The article describes an instance where she “came toe to toe with a colleague who doubted her expertise.” This is a familiar and difficult situation for many professionals. It is a moment that can either shake one’s confidence or forge it into something stronger. How a leader responds to this kind of challenge is a defining characteristic. Sarai’s experience demonstrates that leadership is not just about technical skill or strategic planning; it is also about resilience, self-assurance, and the ability to stand firm in one’s own competence.
Building Resilience: Lessons from Early Career Challenges
Sarai’s preparation for these moments of adversity began long before she entered corporate America. Her first role as a K-8 curriculum designer and teacher was an incredibly demanding job that required a high degree of resilience. The daily stress of that role, and the eventual burnout she experienced, helped her to build a “thick skin.” She learned how to handle pressure, how to manage competing demands, and how to navigate challenging interactions. These experiences, while difficult, were a form of resilience training.
When she was later “faced with this colleague telling her how something ‘should’ be done,” she had a well of experience to draw from. She did not crumble under the criticism or doubt; instead, she “learned to rely on her own knowledge and what she believed was right.” This is a crucial moment of self-actualization. She had the confidence to trust her own expertise, an expertise built on a solid academic foundation and years of practical, hands-on experience in both teaching and curriculum development. She had the receipts to back up her opinions, and she was not afraid to use them.
The Power of Self-Assurance in a Technical Field
This self-assurance is a critical skill for any technical leader. In a field like technology, where there are often multiple “right” ways to solve a problem, a leader must have the confidence to make a decision and stand by it. This is not about being arrogant or inflexible; it is about having a clear, well-reasoned point of view that is grounded in expertise and data. A leader who is easily swayed or who constantly second-guesses themselves will create confusion and a lack of confidence in their team.
Sarai’s ability to build this self-assurance, even after battling the imposter syndrome that all new managers face, is a testament to her growth. She reinforced her belief in her own coding skills and her ability to lead. This confidence is not just for her; it is for her team. A team that sees a leader who is confident, composed, and decisive, even when faced with adversity, will feel more secure and more focused. Her self-assurance becomes a stabilizing force for everyone she manages.
Leading with Care: The Human-Centric Approach
Despite the “thick skin” and the resilience, Sarai’s leadership style is not one of a hardened or distant manager. Her entire journey is rooted in a passion for education and for helping others learn. The article notes that her leadership skills include “compassion” and an “ability to lead with care.” This highlights a critical, modern aspect of leadership: the understanding that competence and compassion are not mutually exclusive, but are in fact deeply intertwined. A leader can be a tough, high-standards expert and a caring, human-centric mentor at the same time.
This balance is what makes her so effective. Her team knows that she has the technical and strategic expertise to lead them in the right direction (the competence), but they also know that she is invested in their personal growth and well-being (the compassion). This dual approach builds a deep sense of trust and loyalty. It creates a supportive environment where team members are willing to be vulnerable, to ask questions, and to stretch themselves, knowing that their manager has their back.
A Leader’s True Goal: Instilling Confidence and Competence
Sarai’s management philosophy and her personal journey culminate in a single, clear goal: to instill confidence and competence in her team. She is not focused on being the star player or the sole source of expertise. She is focused on developing a team of competent, confident professionals. Her “I do, we do, you do” method is the engine of this goal. It is a systematic process for transferring her knowledge and building her team’s self-assurance.
She is creating a team that does not need to rely on her for every answer. By empowering her direct reports, giving them opportunities to try new things, and supporting them as they test their knowledge, she is creating a sustainable and scalable team culture. This is the ultimate mark of a confident leader: they are not afraid of being outshined by their team members; they actively work to make them shine. Her success is reflected in the success of her team.
The Ripple Effect of Empowered Leadership
The impact of this leadership style extends far beyond her immediate team. By fostering a supportive environment where everyone can thrive, Sarai is creating a ripple effect. Her empowered team members are more engaged, more innovative, and produce higher-quality work. The data, AI, and cybersecurity curriculum they create is better, which in turn creates a better learning experience for thousands of learners. Her leadership style directly impacts the quality of the company’s product and the fulfillment of its mission.
This approach also serves as a model for others in the organization. It demonstrates that a non-traditional path is not a liability but a strength. It shows that a management style rooted in teaching and compassion can be incredibly effective in a high-pressure tech environment. In this way, she is not just a leader of a curriculum team; she is a leader who is helping to shape and evolve the culture of the entire organization.
Conclusion
Sarai’s journey has come full circle. She began her career in a classroom, driven by a passion to teach. After a journey that took her from K-8 to corporate e-learning, from an individual contributor to an interim manager, she is now a senior leader at a major technology education company. But at her core, she is still that teacher. Her “classroom” is now a global team of high-level professionals, and her “students” are her direct reports. Her “curriculum” is her management philosophy.
Her story is a powerful reminder that leadership is not about a title or a position on an organizational chart. It is about a deep-seated commitment to helping others grow. She has successfully blended her technical competence with her passion for education to become a new kind of technical leader—one who leads not just with expertise, but with compassion, resilience, and a clear, unwavering belief in the potential of her team. She is the definitive example of a classroom teacher who became a confident and highly effective programming leader.