Supercharge your career growth – pt. 2

Last week we started talking about 15 traits of top performing software engineers.

The post was so long I broke it up over two weeks. If you missed part one, you can read it here. 

Remember: working on even just a few of these can supercharge your growth and really help you stand out as a software engineering leader ⚡️

9. Be a force multiplier for the team

Becoming a force multiplier is all about expanding your vision and scope of influence. It’s about helping other engineers on your team level up.

Here are a few common ways you can be a force multiplier:

• Help unblock other engineers (pairing, brainstorming, walkthroughs, technical spec collaboration, one-on-one’s)

• Helpful, through, and timely code reviews

• Mentor up and coming engineers in areas they struggle

• Develop diagrams & documentation for complex systems or code areas

10. Grow your communication skills

So much of our job as software engineers is related to communication.

• Giving feedback during code review

• Writing code that is clear, concise, and discoverable

• Developing technical documentation and diagrams for new projects

• Sharing standup and project updates for stakeholders

The more senior you want to become, the more important it is to have excellent technical communication skills.

Clear technical communication is also super important for interviewing.

If you can’t communicate concisely and clearly, interviewers won’t be able to understand your ideas. They may write you off as not having the skills they need, when in reality, it was a communication issue, struggling to get your point across – not a “I don’t know how to code this problem.”

11. Develop your product/business sense

Business concepts and product lingo can be pretty intimidating when you first dive in. Personally, working at high-growth startups the last few years, I’ve had to as a lot of dumb questions over the last few years to level up in my thinking.

It’s so easy to lose the big picture. 👀
To get hung up in the nitty gritty of code. 😅

Investing time to learn why we build what we are build, how it will help our customers, how it will grow our business – has helped me be a much more valueable contributor.

I’m able to understand things like:

• what the priorities should be on large, complex projects

• areas of tech debt that need immediate attention

• ways to bring a new idea to market with very little engineering effort

• how to speak with clients/business people in a way they understand

12. Learn the art of managing up

Managing up is learning to view your work through leadership eyes.

It’s about the big picture. 🧠

Look beyond your role, and think about what your manager’s and ultimately the business’ goals are for your organization. Work to align your own goals and priorities with the bigger picture, and keep them informed of your efforts.

In regards to projects / time management:

• Where are your projects at? Have you given clear, concise updates?

• Are you blocked on anything, how could you get around the blockers?

• What are the hidden things eating up your time?

In regards to being a force-multiplier:

• What areas do you need to grow in, and how can you pursue that?

• Are you mentoring other engineers, and thus helping the team level up?

• Are you influencing the team for the visions your manager has laid out?

In regards to productivity:

• Are there any high priority tasks/bugs that only you know about?

• Is there anything you could train others on to de-SPOF yourself?

• Are you updating Linear/Jira tickets with estimates and status updates?

13. Mentor and be mentored

It’s amazing how many people are willing to help you level up if you reach out for help. That’s one thing I love about this field. 💙

I’ve had several mentors over the years, and all of them have been hugely instrumental to my own career and personal growth. 🤝

Mentors can help you see talents and skills you might think are “normal”, when in reality they are rare and valuable! They can also help you grow by identifying areas you are weaker in.

Give back to the community.

Everyone needs a mentor, so look for others on your team you can pour into. If you are a mid-level or senior engineer, look for new hires or juniors who you can help find their way and be productive more quickly.

14. Prioritize your work ruthlessly

As you move into senior engineering positions, there’s never enough time to do everything that’s on your plate 😅

You have to learn how to ruthlessly prioritize your work, and work top down on what is really going to move the needle forward.

• What can you delegate?

• What do you need to say no to?

• What do you need to do immediately?

I’m not saying this is easy. I’m a people pleaser, so I hate saying “no” to anything. But at some point if you try to do everything, you’ll end up doing nothing.

15. Hire the right people to join your team

It’s amazing how much a few really strong engineers can accomplish – whether junior or senior!

Even if you aren’t the hiring manager, as a senior engineer, you’ll still be involved in technical interviews and/or whiteboarding rounds.

Here are some things I look for in new hires:

• someone who will help your team level up technically

• someone who will bring fresh and diverse ideas

• someone who fits the values of the organization

• someone who’s passionate about making a difference

Keep leveling up the team – hire better than yourselves. 🚀

I hope that was helpful!

Until next week 👇🏼

Catch me daily on LinkedIn and Twitter, where I talk about everything software engineering, startups, and growing in your engineering soft skills.