In the fifth episode of Tech Leaders’ Intel, James Loveridge is joined by Ravneet Shah, CTO of Allica Bank, the dedicated bank supporting SMEs. An engineer at heart, Ravneet has been at Allica for three years, and became CTO in January 2022 after initially joining the firm as an integration lead. Today, Ravneet talks us through her journey to becoming a CTO and the challenges she overcame when making the transition. It was exposure to a multitude of different systems early on that helped her grow so quickly, she says, and she tries to give her junior engineers the same experience today. On top of this, Ravneet explains the importance of continual learning from others at all levels – it is often graduates, she says, who can bring the freshest ideas to the table. But how do you go about making sure your juniors feel empowered to do this? It’s all about encouraging an environment where everyone is able to learn and share at all times, while owning their solutions from development to deployment. Finally, Ravneet talks us through the hiring process, what differs when you’re working in a regulated industry, how to delegate, and the importance of tailoring the working environment to the individual. Ultimately, you’re still being productive as a leader even though you’re no longer the one providing solutions. The skill is in enabling your team to provide them – and often these might be better than the ones you had in mind yourself! Thanks to Ravneet for sharing her insights – if you would like to hear more, then you can connect with her on LinkedIn.