Engineering Leadership Development

When I got promoted to my first VP role, I thought: more control, more meetings, more decisions. Turns out, that was the fastest way to fail as a leader. I went from managing a few teams to owning strategy and execution for an entire function. Overnight, my calendar exploded. I thought leadership was about doing more. Here’s the truth: I got it wrong. A lot. Over the next two years, I learned the hard way that being a true leader is very different from being a great manager. Here are the lessons that stuck, because I earned them the hard way: 1. Management ≠ Control I hovered. I micromanaged. And I watched trust erode. People didn’t need my shadow, they needed clarity and confidence. 2. High performers quit quietly I lost a rockstar early. Not to a competitor - to boredom. Top talent needs challenge, not comfort. 3. Urgency destroys priorities When everything is a fire drill, nothing matters. I learned to step back and define what really moves the needle. 4. Fewer decisions, better systems I thought being a VP meant making every call. That’s how you burn out. The fix? Build systems that make decisions for you. 5. Morale starts with hard truths I sugarcoated bad news to keep the peace. It backfired. Teams trust you more when you stop spinning. 6. Meetings hide accountability If no decision gets made, it should’ve been an email. Every meeting needs an owner and an outcome. 7. Burnout signals broken systems I used to think tired teams needed pep talks. Wrong. Burnout means your structure is broken, not your people. 8. Quiet ≠ Inactive I almost wrote off a quiet engineer, until I realized they powered half our success. Leaders look deeper. 9. Culture follows what you allow What you tolerate becomes the norm. Missed deadlines, skipped follow-through - ignore it, and it becomes culture. Two years later, I realized something big: Leadership isn’t about doing more. It’s about creating an environment where the right things happen without you in the room. If you’re making the leap from manager to leader, here’s my advice: -Unlearn control. -Focus on systems, not heroics. -Remember: culture is built in the moments you overlook. You’ll mess up (I sure did). But if you embrace these hard truths, you’ll become the kind of leader teams run toward, not away from.

Here's the leadership strategy that propelled me to Principal Engineer at Google: "I push rocks down hills." This is the pithiest summary of Principal Engineer-ing that I've come up with, and it's a major part of how I approach exec-level engineering leadership. Moving up the career ladder as an engineer is about finding leverage: ways to produce more value per unit of time. You can grow your skills so you can handle harder projects and finish them faster. You can improve your judgment so you identify opportunities that produce more value for the effort. You can lead teams, so your skills and judgment get magnified across more contributors. One way to magnify your output as a leader is by turning a hard problem into an easy problem. Something I've observed over time is that it's a lot more challenging to start a project than to keep a project moving in the same direction. The first few commits, the project outline, the high-level architecture: these are the hardest and the most consequential challenges. Once the skeleton is in place, it's harder for a project to run off the rails. Starting projects is hard; maintaining that momentum is comparatively easy. This leads to the discipline of pushing rocks down hills. Your goal isn't to drive a project to completion; it's to impart enough momentum to the project that it will cross the finish line even if you stop paying attention to it. The goal is to build teams that don't need you. Don't build teams with yourself at the center: build teams with yourself on the outside. Once a problem is moving under its own momentum, it's no longer a high-leverage place to spend your time. You can move on. It's time to push a different rock down the hill. One consequence is that you will start more projects than you finish. Not because the projects *don't* finish, but because *you're* not the one driving them over the line. You need to have the humility to step back and give credit to the folks who finish the job. Scaling yourself means taking a smaller share of credit for a larger number of projects.

Most CEOs make million-dollar decisions using the same process they use to pick lunch. And that's exactly why 70% of strategic initiatives fail. Here's what I've noticed after watching hundreds of leaders in action: The average founder attacks problems like a firefighter. See problem → Rush to solution → Wonder why it keeps happening. But the best CEOs? They're more like detectives. They know that the first solution is rarely the right solution. The obvious answer is usually incomplete. And moving fast without thinking costs more time than thinking first. I learned this the hard way. Years ago, our sales were tanking. My gut said "hire more salespeople." Seemed obvious. More people = more sales, right? Wrong. When I finally slowed down to really examine the problem, I discovered our pricing was confusing customers. Our best prospects were ghosting us after demos. The fix? A simple pricing calculator on our website. Cost: $500 and one afternoon. Result: 40% increase in close rate. The expensive hiring spree I almost launched? Would've made things worse. Here's what separates strategic thinkers from reactive leaders: 1/ They question before they answer. What's really broken here? What are we not seeing? 2/ They zoom out before they zoom in. How does this connect to everything else? What's the real impact? 3/ They explore before they execute. What are ALL our options? What haven't we tried? 4/ They test before they invest. Can we try this small first? What would prove this works? 5/ They align before they advance. Is everyone clear on the why? Do we all see the same target? The ironic part? This "slower" approach is actually faster. Because you solve the right problem. Once. Instead of the wrong problem. Over and over. Strategic thinking isn't about being smarter. It's about having a better process. One that turns your biggest challenges into your biggest advantages. What expensive mistake could better thinking have helped you avoid? ♻️ Repost to help a leader in your network. 💡 Follow Eric Partaker for more strategy insights. 📌 Want the full high-res Strategic Thinking Wheel? Subscribe to my FREE NEWSLETTER and I’ll send you the complete framework — plus one concise, highly actionable CEO insight every week to help you make better decisions, avoid costly mistakes, and scale with clarity. Join 235,000+ leaders committed to operating in the top 2%. https://lnkd.in/eCz9t9HH

When I started my career as a young enthusiast chemical engineer, everything was tangible. Clear. Measurable. Structured. And for a while, that was ok. But as I moved into leadership, I learned: → The higher you go, the less success depends on technical skill and the more it depends on emotional clarity. You don’t grow by being the best engineer. You grow by being the person others trust to lead. If you want to lead people, you must see their potential,  not just their performance. If you want to drive change, you must communicate clearly,  calmly and consistently. If you want to scale impact, you must be seen not for attention,  but for alignment. Most engineers are humble and amazing people. They let their work speak for them. But results don’t speak. People do. And people follow what they feel. Leadership isn’t just a shift in skills. It’s a shift in self-perception. From silent contributor → thoughtful communicator. From task-focused → purpose-driven. From reactive → reflective. It doesn’t happen overnight. But it can happen with intention, patience, and self-awareness. The real question is: Are you ready to lead from who you are, not just what you know?

That VP who barely knows your work just vetoed your promotion. "Not enough strategic presence," they said. After coaching Fortune 100 leaders, here's what I've discovered: ➟ Strong team results ➟ Outstanding metrics ➟ Top performance reviews Yet when promotion time arrives, someone in the leadership room says: "I'm not sure they're ready." What's really happening? The Executive Trust Gap. Take Sarah, a Senior Engineering Manager who led a $14M product launch. Despite stellar metrics (98% team retention, 42% faster delivery), her CPO said: "Great execution, but I need to see more strategic leadership." Three months later, using what I'm about to share, she got promoted and now leads high impact meetings which opens doors to career-defining opportunities. The truth? Trust influences promotion decisions more than performance metrics alone. Here are 7 strategic moves that turn skeptical executives into your biggest champions: 1. Master the executive language shift ↳ Junior leaders talk about activities ("I completed the project") ↳ Senior leaders talk about outcomes ("This delivered 20% growth") ↳ Top leaders talk about strategic implications ("This positions us to...") ↳ Frame your updates at the highest appropriate level 2. Volunteer for cross-functional initiatives ↳ Creates visibility with multiple decision-makers ↳ Shows your impact beyond your immediate role ↳ Proves you think about the broader business 3. The "Preview" Strategy ↳ Brief key stakeholders before big meetings ↳ "I want to share our approach first and get your input" ↳ Eliminates surprise (which executives hate) 4. Create "Trust Deposits" before needing withdrawals ↳ Share relevant industry insights without asking for anything ↳ Congratulate executives on company wins ↳ Build the relationship when stakes are low 5. The 10-minute rule for executive meetings ↳ Practice delivering your message in 10 minutes ↳ Then practice delivering it in 5 minutes ↳ Then practice delivering it in 2 minutes ↳ Be ready for any time constraint 6. Demonstrate intellectual honesty ↳ Address problems before they're mentioned ↳ Acknowledge limitations in your recommendations ↳ Shows judgment and builds confidence in your thinking 7. The "Proxy Champion" technique ↳ Identify who already has the executive's trust ↳ Build strong relationships with these proxies ↳ Their endorsement becomes your shortcut to trust The most qualified person rarely gets the promotion. The most trusted one does. Which of these 7 moves will you implement this week? ♻ Repost to help someone bridge their trust gap. ➕ Follow me for more proven leadership strategies that create real career momentum.

The best engineering leaders I've worked with all had one thing in common. They treated the intern and the VP the same way. Not because they were naive about hierarchy. Because they understood something most leaders never learn. The way you treat people who can't do anything for you yet is the clearest signal of who you actually are as a leader. I've watched senior engineers talk over junior teammates in design reviews. Dismiss ideas without hearing them out. Reserve their best energy for the people above them and give everyone else whatever was left. And then wonder why their team had a retention problem. Here's what those leaders missed. The junior engineer you dismissed in today's meeting becomes the Staff engineer someone else develops and loses you to in three years. The teammate you talked over had the solution you spent two sprints trying to find. The culture you build when no one is evaluating you is the one your team lives in every single day. Respect isn't a reward you hand out based on titles and credentials. It's a standard you hold regardless of who's in the room. The engineers who become the leaders people actually want to work for don't wait until someone proves their worth. They lead with respect first. Every time. For everyone.

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned in leadership is that you don’t have to be the expert. In fact, often, not being the expert can be an advantage in pulling together a great team that delivers fantastic outcomes. For someone who has spent much of my life in engineering businesses, I have a rather unusual background - I’m not an engineer nor a distribution expert. My degree is in food sciences and agriculture, and I trained as an accountant. Before stepping into industry, I spent 12 years as an investment banker in London and New York. What this background has taught me is the value of building a diverse team and trusting them to deliver… whilst providing a bit of coaching along the way. I have never believed I could engineer anything better than the engineers I’ve had the privilege to work with, nor make better people judgements than the people team . Instead, my role has always been about facilitating success - creating an environment where diverse talent can work effectively together as an aligned team, allowing everyone to contribute by empowering them doing what they do best in pursuit of common objectives. In engineering and beyond, the key to success lies in empowering people. It’s about enabling teams to recognise and truly understand the needs of the customers they serve and to develop efficient and effective solutions to the problems they and other stakeholders face. As leaders, we don’t need to have all the answers. Our job is to make sure we create the right culture and ask the relevant questions, and then provide the space, resources and support to let talented individuals work effectively together to find the best solution. No matter your industry or discipline, success is never about the contribution of one person. It’s about trust, collaboration, and creating a space where everyone can contribute to their full potential. #Engineering #Leadership #Trust #WeAreRS

Your ego is hurting your team more than you realize. But you probably don’t see it. Ego is sneaky. It shows up in ways you don’t expect. It makes you: Dismiss feedback too quickly. Micromanage instead of delegate. Focus on being right over getting it right. Avoid difficult conversations to protect your pride. Take credit instead of giving it. And the worst part? Your team won’t tell you. They’ll just disengage. They’ll stop bringing ideas. They’ll play it safe instead of taking initiative. That’s how teams fall apart. Here’s how to spot ego creeping in: •You always have the final say. If no one challenges you, they might fear you. •You feel defensive when questioned. Instead of listening, you’re looking to prove a point. •You don’t ask for help. Leaders who never ask for input are limiting growth. So, what can you do? 1. Start with self-awareness. 2. Get comfortable with feedback, even when it stings. 3. Lead with curiosity, not certainty. Strong leadership isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about creating space for better ones. Where have you seen ego get in the way at work?

🚀The Role of Mental Models in Strategic Thinking for Leaders🚀 Ever wondered why some leaders always seem one step ahead—making the right call, solving complex problems, and inspiring real change? The secret isn’t superhuman IQ or non-stop hustle. It’s mastering the art of mental models for strategic thinking. Mental models are the “OS” of leadership: they are the structured ways of seeing, analyzing, and acting that underpin every major decision, innovation, and cultural shift in high-achieving organizations.🧠✨ Here are 3 mental models I personally rely on (and encourage other leaders) to boost clarity, innovation, and game-changing results: 1️⃣ First Principles Thinking Don’t just accept things “as they’ve always been.” Break problems down to their raw components, discard outdated assumptions, and rebuild solutions from the ground up. ➖ Example: Elon Musk made rocket science affordable not by tweaking old designs, but by deconstructing and then reimagining every material and process needed to put a rocket in space. ♠️ How can you deconstruct your toughest challenges instead of endlessly iterating on yesterday’s playbook? 2️⃣ Second Order Thinking “...and then what?” Don’t stop at the obvious outcome—peek around the corner to see the ripple effects and unintended consequences of each decision. ➖ Example: A quick cost-cutting move boosts quarterly profits... but also destroys morale, drives out your best people, and torpedoes future growth. ♠️ Before your next big move, ask: “What might happen in 6 months because of this—good and bad?” 3️⃣ Inversion Instead of asking “How do I succeed?” ask “How could I fail?” Flip your goal on its head and design guardrails to avoid disaster. ➖ Example: Rather than just creating a great product launch, proactively plan for every reason it could flop—so you can fix weak points ahead of time. ♠️ Next planning session? Start with: “If this crashed and burned, what would have caused it?” When you actively layer these models into your decision-making, magic happens: ♠️ Problems turn into opportunities. ♠️ You see risks before they strike. ♠️ You outthink—not just outwork—the competition. Serious leaders don’t just work harder; they think better. Ready to level up? 👉 Comment below: Which mental model has changed your thinking? Or which would you add to this list? #Leadership #StrategicThinking #MentalModels #Innovation #DecisionMaking #GrowthMindset #LeadershipDevelopment Let’s make critical thinking viral.

Your team just spent 9 months building a critical project. Right before launch, one engineer speaks up: "We can't ship this." Do you force the launch to save your ego, or pull the plug and face the executives? When Raffi Krikorian (now CTO of Mozilla) faced this exact scenario while working with Twitter's engineering team, he chose the hardest path. He didn't fire the engineer. He didn't force the code into production. Instead, he stood in front of the entire company, delivered a massive mea culpa, and took the blame to protect his team. What happened next is the ultimate lesson in leadership. Because Raffi provided that shield of psychological safety, his team didn't panic. They rose to the challenge. Free from the pressure of a forced launch, they were able to say: "Okay, we can keep this part, we trash that part, and we re-architect the rest." The result? They eventually shipped a system so resilient that when the massive traffic spikes of the World Cup hit Twitter, the platform didn't crash once. As Raffi said: "No one noticed." That moment fundamentally shifted how he viewed his role: "My job is not actually to be the architect. My job is to provide the framework, the vision, the protection, the funding, the people, and to make the environment so all these people can do the best job of their lives." The transition from expert to leader is painful. You have to stop building the product, and start building the environment. 🎧 Catch the full epsiode on leadership, trust, and scaling with Raffi on the Positive Leadership Podcast (link in the comments!). 💡 Question for you: How do you create an environment where your team feels safe enough to tell you a hard truth? 👇 #PositiveLeadership #Management #TechLeadership #PsychologicalSafety #GrowthMindset #Culture