My company has no leadership roles. What now?

On paper, it sounds great, but when every developer is a software engineer, seniors can feel undervalued. Without a recognized label, your impact may be hidden from performance reviews, making it difficult to prove you’re ready for the next step.

When I accepted a lead‑developer role, the interviewers warned me that the company never used leadership titles. It was super strange. Everyone who would have had the title of CTO, Staff Engineer, or Lead Developer elsewhere, was a regular software engineer here.

I inherited three junior teammates and instantly noticed skill gaps that were holding us back. As a solution, I agreed with management that I would organize weekly knowledge-sharing sessions for them, where they could quickly learn some tips and tricks.

At the same time, our tech stack was outdated. In response, I made a short presentation comparing our legacy tools to modern alternatives, highlighting faster build times and lower maintenance costs. Management approved and soon we began a gradual implementation.

Three months later, the juniors were handling tickets independently, and our velocity went up. Knowledge sharing became part of the culture and the modern tech stack not only made development more enjoyable, but also sped it up.

As you can see, it is not the title that makes you a leader. Identifying problems, proposing concrete solutions, and delivering results do.

What you need to do is take the first steps to get things moving in the right direction.

Identify the most business‑critical components of your product and become the go‑to expert. Log metrics such as bug count, feature deliver or cycle time, when a developer starts a task until it reaches production. Aim for 5-10% improvement within two months to quantify your impact.

Mentor a junior or mid‑level teammate. Schedule a recurring 30‑minute sync for code reviews, best‑practice demos, or constructive feedback. Document progress in a shared file and celebrate milestones together.

Launch a 30‑minute tech‑talk series on emerging techs, tools or processes. After each session, publish a one‑page summary in the corporate wiki and email your manager. Track attendance and collect a quick “action item” vote.

Whatever you do, document each step’s outcome in a simple spreadsheet or log. When you meet with your manager, bring these numbers to demonstrate your impact.

Leadership is a series of actions, not a badge. Pick one of the three steps, execute it before Friday, and record the impact. Over time, you can use these results for promotion or in a leadership interview.