Tech Has Always Had a Thing for Heroes
The lone genius founder. The 10x engineer. The visionary leader who sees what no one else can.
These characters dominate our conference stages, our LinkedIn feeds, our pitch decks. We’ve mythologized the idea that progress comes from singular brilliance someone working late into the night, rewriting the future while the rest of us sleep.
But here’s the truth we often avoid, those stories are comforting lies. And they’re holding us back.
Real innovation real resilience doesn’t come from one person doing everything. It comes from many people doing the right things together, adapting in the moment, sharing context, and building a system where leadership is allowed to emerge, not just be assigned.
This is especially true in tech, where the pace of change punishes rigidity and rewards collaboration.
Leadership Is Not a Role, It’s an Emergence
In my work mentoring tech professionals, coaching leaders, and building resilient teams across startups and scaleups, I’ve seen one pattern again and again:
The best leaders don’t wait to be given permission. They rise in the moment because the situation calls for it.
That’s emergent leadership.
It’s not about hierarchy. It’s not about charisma. It’s about context, awareness, and relational intelligence.
True leadership shows up when someone chooses to listen when no one else is. When someone diffuses tension in the room, not by force, but by empathy. When someone steps into a problem not to own the spotlight, but to share the weight.
This is the foundation of my book-in-progress, A Hero Within a Thousand Faces. It’s both a warning and an invitation to let go of the idea that one person needs to have all the answers and instead understand that leadership can (and should) come from anywhere.
Because here’s the risk: If your organization is built around a single hero, what happens when they burn out? What happens when they leave? What happens when they’re wrong?
In a world that moves as fast as ours, we can’t afford to anchor everything to one face.
The Cost of Isolation in Tech
Let’s talk about something tech doesn’t like to admit: We are really bad at asking for help.
There’s an invisible rule in many tech spaces that says: “If you're smart enough, you'll figure it out on your own.”
This breeds silent pressure. People feel like they have to "level up" without showing weakness. So they push through alone Googling late at night, feeling impostor syndrome in meetings, nodding along while their confidence crumbles inside.
And this isolation has a cost:
- Burnout becomes normalized.
- Mediocrity gets masked by busyness.
- Growth slows down because no one wants to admit they’re stuck.
The irony? Tech is a field built on iteration, experimentation, and feedback loops. But when it comes to personal and leadership development, we pretend it’s a solo game.
It’s not.
Mentorship isn’t optional. It’s the most scalable, human-centred tool we have for navigating complexity.
Why Mentorship Is a Leadership Catalyst
I’ve mentored engineers in burnout, founders in transition, and emerging leaders unsure how to speak up in rooms full of louder voices.
You know what they all have in common?
They didn’t need someone to “fix” them. They needed someone to see them.
Mentorship gives people space to breathe. It helps them name what they’re experiencing and realize, “Oh… it’s not just me.”
Sometimes clarity isn’t about knowledge. It’s about validation. Sometimes the most valuable thing a mentor can say is: “Yes, I’ve been there. You’re not broken. You’re growing.”
The best mentorship relationships aren’t transactional. They’re transformational.
When I mentor someone, I don’t hand them a map. We co-create one based on their goals, values, and pace. We work through blind spots, emotional blockers, team dynamics, and yes, sometimes career strategy and interview prep.
But above all, I help them see themselves differently. And that’s where leadership begins.
Mentoring Builds the Mentor Too
There’s a misconception that mentors are wise, all-knowing guides, sitting atop some career mountain.
Nope. I’m still climbing too.
In fact, mentoring sharpens my own leadership more than any podcast, book, or workshop ever could.
- It reminds me of where I came from.
- It forces me to slow down and articulate what I’ve learned.
- It helps me reflect on mistakes I don’t want to repeat.
- It keeps me grounded, humble, and curious.
When we guide others, we grow ourselves. Leadership isn’t static it’s shaped by every interaction, every question, every moment we choose to show up for someone else.
Mentoring is not a one-way street. It’s a mirror.
The New Hero’s Journey Is Shared
We don’t need more solo heroes. We need communities of courage.
The new hero in tech is not the loudest voice in the room, or the one who closed the biggest funding round, or the one who wrote 10,000 lines of code alone in a cave.
The new hero is the person who makes space for others to lead. The one who helps build systems where people can thrive, not just survive. The one who says, “You don’t need to do this alone.”
Leadership isn’t about control. It’s about creating momentum that outlives you.
We don’t grow in isolation. We grow in relation to mentors, to peers, to the challenges we face and the lessons we reflect back.
So If You’re in Tech and Feeling Stuck…
Maybe you’ve just been promoted, but feel like a fraud. Maybe you’re burned out, unsure what you’re even chasing anymore. Maybe you’ve hit a ceiling and can’t see what’s next.
You’re not alone. And you don’t need to figure it all out solo.
Find a mentor. Ask for help. Have the hard conversation. Be the person who breaks the myth that real leaders “go it alone.”
We rise together or not at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is emergent leadership in tech?
Emergent leadership happens when individuals rise to lead based on context, trust, and shared responsibility not because of their title or authority. It’s adaptive, responsive, and deeply collaborative, making it ideal for complex, fast-moving environments like tech.
Why is mentorship important in the tech industry?
Mentorship in tech bridges the gap between knowledge and experience. It provides clarity, emotional resilience, and strategic insight that accelerates growth. In a field filled with rapid change, mentorship is the most human and scalable way to avoid burnout and build lasting careers.