Guiding Teams Through Technological Change: Reflections on Mentorship at Activus

When I joined Activus as a contractor, the primary goal was to modernise a large VB6 Windows Forms application. But what I found waiting for me was not just legacy code - it was a legacy mindset. The technology needed updating, certainly, but so did the team’s understanding of modern software development practices. That’s where mentorship came in.

The team at Activus were competent and capable, but many of them had limited exposure to web technologies. They were unfamiliar with ASP.NET MVC, the concept of statelessness in web applications, or why things like static classes could create problems in a distributed system. These weren’t failures—they were symptoms of a team that had been deeply embedded in desktop development.

Initially, I focused on delivering features and helping to structure the new web interface. But it quickly became clear that progress would be limited unless we raised the collective capability of the team. And so, almost organically, I found myself in a mentorship role.

I began running ad hoc training sessions - some formal, some over a desk. We covered core web concepts, MVC routing, dependency injection, and how to think in layers. One of the big moments was when we explored the dangers of static state in web applications. I still remember the lightbulb moment for some developers when they realised how shared state could create unpredictable behaviour across concurrent sessions.

What surprised me most wasn’t the need for training, but how much I enjoyed delivering it. Mentorship had never been part of my job title, but it became a defining part of my role at Activus. And it wasn’t just about teaching—it was about empathy, patience, and creating an environment where it was safe to ask questions and get things wrong.

This role taught me that leadership isn’t always granted—it’s often earned. I didn’t have authority over the team, but I had influence. By showing up consistently, offering guidance without judgment, and leading by example, I became someone others turned to when they hit roadblocks.

That experience changed the way I saw myself. I wasn’t just a contractor or a senior developer—I was someone who could lift a team. It laid the foundation for how I approach technical leadership today, where mentorship is never an afterthought but a core part of delivery.

Teams don’t change just because the technology does. They change because someone takes the time to bring them along for the journey. At Activus, I had the chance to be that someone—and it shaped the way I lead to this day.