Good Leader, Bad Leader: A Software Tester’s Journal

It’s funny how, as a software tester, you come to realize that the real impact on your work often doesn’t come from the projects themselves, but from the people who lead them. The more I’ve tested, the clearer this has become. There’s something deeply personal about how leadership influences the way you approach testing, how engaged you feel, and how much growth you experience.

I’ve worked with both good leaders and not-so-good ones, and over time, I’ve come to see just how stark the differences can be. Here’s a bit of my own reflection — my journal, if you will — about what makes a leader good or bad, at least through my lens as a tester.

One of the standout qualities I’ve seen in a great leader is their ability to inspire the team. They have this way of communicating the bigger picture, making us feel like we’re all contributing to something larger than just the task at hand. They make the work feel meaningful, like our efforts truly matter. When a leader is clear about the goals and the vision for a product, it gives the team direction, focus, and energy. I’ve worked under leaders who would explain how even the smallest bug fix fits into the larger vision, and that sense of purpose kept the team motivated, even when things got tough.