* Always be learning and doing. Never be stagnant. Even if you are in a very boring team you can still learn and supplement your skills / knowledge on the side.

* Always be learning and doing. Never be stagnant. Even if you are in a very boring team you can still learn and supplement your skills / knowledge on the side. This may or may not help immediately but definitely helps long term. * Really practice open/active listening and critical thinking: there are very smart people and it's really good to assume good intent when they talk. Critical thinking and question is more around 'where is the disconnect? How do I try and actively move towards and see their point of view'. * Questioning authority and being able to say no. * Don't use code reviews as a debate forum but instead as a learning forum. Granted time is of essence, so a timely resolution may be necessary but learning and actively listening through reviews helps your skills as a coder. * Cut through heirarchy and organizational politics to achieve the larger goals for the team, the project and ultimately for Google.