TL;DR: * Your annual rating is decided in a "calibration" meeting before you submit your self-assessment. * Your rating depends on your manager's ability to "sell" your case to their boss and peers, and they have a very short time to do it. * Don'
TL;DR: * When a manager consistently blocks your growth, it is time to leave that team. * Know how to spot toxic archetypes. People are what they do, not what they say. * Re-allocate your "discretionary effort" from winning their approval to building your future. Danielle's Frustrations Danielle
TL;DR: * Your manager is incentivized to promote you. Your success makes them look good. * Be a top performer who is visibly operating at the next level. * Make your manager’s job easier by solving their problems, adapting to their style, and never making them feel threatened. * Treat the relationship
TL;DR: * The secret sauce of Principal Engineers is Systems Thinking. * It's a skill that you can’t learn at school. * It's built from four ingredients: The Grind (hard work), The Arena (right job), The Compass (curiosity), and The Accelerant (mentors). * To grow, balance the short-term
TL;DR: The Strategic Edge Instead of trying to be the fastest coder, focus on becoming indispensable. Here's how: * Tackle the "Ugly" Problems: Volunteer for the complex, legacy work others avoid. * Become a System Archaeologist: Master the boring, critical systems that make the money. * Translate Chaos