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I’m about two years into a part-time technical leadership role. I know I need to give these things time, but it doesn’t seem to be sticking. I can’t remember t

I’m about two years into a part-time technical leadership role. I know I need to give these things time, but it doesn’t seem to be sticking. I can’t remember the last time I looked forward to work. It is hard to feel ownership of the stuff that is being built under me. I’m unsure if the actual value I bring in this role. Sometimes it feels more like parenting than building things. Everyone’s all gung-ho about me “growing” and “leading,” but sometimes I think that’s the case because it means fewer things for them to worry about vs it actually being my next step of growth. It isn’t all bad. But for a long time it felt like I screwed up my career. I suspect I have a deeper disdain for the corporate ladder after seeing that this is effectively my ceiling.

nine_k 2y ago
Well, yes, it may be more like parenting. Instead of building things by hand, you help other people come together and build things. However good one may be in any craft, anything sizable can't be built as a solo project, in a reasonable time. So, regarding the value you can bring, some practical ideas. - The big picture. "Individual contributors", each building their own piece, often lack the context of the bigger thing where these pieces should fit. They usually want to learn about it, but have fewer opportunities than you do. Show your fellow engineers the bigger picture periodically. They will be thankful, and everything will fit together better. Equally, ask your higher-ups to regularly share their big picture view with you (and your peers). In a few places I've seen where this was done regularly, it helped a lot. - Expertise. Having worked on this and that across the system, you know various nooks and crannies other people may not yet. Make yourself available to answering questions like "how do we do this obscure thing". - The interconnect. People who are building a large thing need to interact, but often they don't know who to interact with. You, at your position, have a better idea who knows / controls what. Help people find each other, and understand how they could cooperate. (At times, such activity constituted more than a half of my work day.)

nine_k 2y ago

Well, yes, it may be more like parenting. Instead of building things by hand, you help other people come together and build things. However good one may be in any craft, anything sizable can't be built as a solo project, in a reasonable time. So, regarding the value you can bring, some practical ideas. - The big picture. "Individual contributors", each building their own piece, often lack the context of the bigger thing where these pieces should fit. They usually want to learn about it, but have fewer opportunities than you do. Show your fellow engineers the bigger picture periodically. They will be thankful, and everything will fit together better. Equally, ask your higher-ups to regularly share their big picture view with you (and your peers). In a few places I've seen where this was done regularly, it helped a lot. - Expertise. Having worked on this and that across the system, you know various nooks and crannies other people may not yet. Make yourself available to answering questions like "how do we do this obscure thing". - The interconnect. People who are building a large thing need to interact, but often they don't know who to interact with. You, at your position, have a better idea who knows / controls what. Help people find each other, and understand how they could cooperate. (At times, such activity constituted more than a half of my work day.)