Creating a Culture of Learning and Growth
Build relationships early. Much of my time is spent doing written work, research, and talking to people. It can help when you need to pay social/political capital to take a stance on something. Staff-plus is about enabling others to do better work — to be a force multiplier. Try to become the engineer that people want to work with. Develop a relationship with your manager where they trust you, and you trust them.
Empathy for your users, in particular, is essential for all engineers to develop. As a Staff Engineer, you’re a manager without the people aspect. By changing our habits and approach, we will revise the industry. By improving ourselves, we make the industry better.
A leader is a set of skills anybody can meet, no matter the title. To be a leader, we don’t even receive any authority over others. We need to be consistent with our areas of responsibility. Being open about our strengths and weaknesses moves us closer to the role of leader.
The only way to remain a long-term leader of a successful company is to create space for others to take recognition. Create space for others so your team grows stronger than your contribution. Several tactics help create an open space for learning and growth. E.g., pair programming, book clubs, mob programming, brown bags, etc. Help with guidance on current and future decisions.
Train new team members during their onboarding. As well as help the team grows in skill capacity and ability. Ask your sponsor how you can support their sponsorship. If you get folks pointed in the right direction when they join, that habit momentum will favor remaining aligned. You need to maintain a positive and productive relationship with your manager. Never shock your supervisor. Sudden surprises can shatter your manager’s trust and respect for you, resulting in a complete and utter loss of faith.
