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1. Forget about schooling as the checkbox to get you to Director Eng as you'll be more likely self-focused, and more disappointed when people don't check the pr

1. Forget about schooling as the checkbox to get you to Director Eng as you'll be more likely self-focused, and more disappointed when people don't check the promotion box along with your personal ambition. Your personal ambition will be a motivator -- to no one but you. Now, get more schooling and shut up about it - people will recognize it in your words and action. 2. Understand that responsibility and authority are inseparable. Be prepared to take fullest possible responsibility of results (good/bad/ugly) in exchange for true authority both formal and more importantly, informal. 3. Have a decent (B or better) set of relevant technical skills and then, consider it malpractice to further develop those skills on your team. You're now a developer of them. 4. Forget about your career, rather for your team members, figure out how you will AMP their careers - more Autonomy, more Mastery of their craft, and more Purpose (AMP). 5. Work on your RELATIONSHIP/LEADERSHIP skills by determining honestly what type of leader you are and will become. Hint, servant leaders, when necessary, will make severe personal sacrifices for their team members, not throw them under the bus to those higher up. They will love you for it. 6. Work on your communication skills / Lead some project meetings whether internal or external and involve everyone you can, while showcasing their contributions. 7. Develop a behavioral Code of Honor with Values congruent with those of the organization at large that you, first, and everyone on your team will subscribe to, and expect from each other. This is about Trust, particularly when the kitchen gets hot - and yes, the kitchen will get hot. 8. Without pissing off your current boss, craft an approach to get to someone who has the authority to make such a call and then, ASK....ASK. "if at some point, I was a developer and steward of a team with these attributes - A, B, C to this organization, what would we ideally help you accomplish over the next 18 months, and how would you know it was successful? 9. Oh and generally (not cause I know you) reduce the use of the word "I, Me, My" by like 80%.

burntoutfire 4y ago
> 4. Forget about your career, rather for your team members, figure out how you will AMP their careers - more Autonomy, more Mastery of their craft, and more Purpose (AMP). Is this good advice? I understand that that's the kind of boss we as ICs want, but from my observation, managers like that do worse than your typical career-oriented brown-noser who doesn't care at all about their reports.
- BamFord 4y ago
  No, not really good advice. At least too pithy to be complete. The real meaning is that your career will take care of itself as a byproduct of focusing on these other things. It's not the endgame, not a worry, and certainly not an obsession - recipes for failure actually. The most effective focus rather is on personal improvement - i.e. Virtue - i.e. Strength aligned in Serving your stakeholders (team, executives, both sides, etc).

burntoutfire 4y ago

> 4. Forget about your career, rather for your team members, figure out how you will AMP their careers - more Autonomy, more Mastery of their craft, and more Purpose (AMP). Is this good advice? I understand that that's the kind of boss we as ICs want, but from my observation, managers like that do worse than your typical career-oriented brown-noser who doesn't care at all about their reports.

BamFord 4y ago
No, not really good advice. At least too pithy to be complete. The real meaning is that your career will take care of itself as a byproduct of focusing on these other things. It's not the endgame, not a worry, and certainly not an obsession - recipes for failure actually. The most effective focus rather is on personal improvement - i.e. Virtue - i.e. Strength aligned in Serving your stakeholders (team, executives, both sides, etc).