I’ve always been drawn to leadership. Throughout my career, I’ve actively pursued any leadership position that presented itself—even when I didn’t get them, I knew the right opportunity would eventually come along. During my time at AOL Platforms, I had the chance to lead BOLD (Black, Organizers, Leaders and Doers), an employee resource group that gave me valuable experience in mobilizing and inspiring others. That experience helped prepare me for when my big opportunity finally arrived at Caveonix, and it’s been both rewarding and challenging as I’ve had to unlearn some habits to become the effective manager I aspire to be.

I’ll never forget what the department head at AOL told a group of us: “delegate, delegate, delegate.” He shared his own initial struggles with delegation, and now I’m experiencing that same learning curve firsthand.


As a programmer-turned-manager, I’ve always held myself to high standards. My instinct is to tackle problems myself to ensure they meet my quality expectations. But I’ve come to realize something important: while team members might not deliver exactly what I envision the first time around, that’s actually an opportunity—not a limitation.

By letting my team approach problems their way, I’m creating space for them to learn and grow. Yes, I still need to provide guidance and feedback, but now I understand that investing time in teaching pays dividends later when they can deliver exactly what’s needed without my intervention.

These days, I still write code, but I’ve learned to focus my technical efforts on the most specialized and challenging tasks. This balance allows me to contribute my expertise while empowering my team to develop theirs. It’s a shift in mindset that’s bringing me closer to my ultimate goal of taking Aura Studios to the next level—understanding that true leadership isn’t about doing everything yourself, but about building and enabling a capable team around you.