Thread by @johncutlefish

have been thinking all week about experience...

I've meet execs who swear "we can't do X because we can't hire engineers like [big tech co]". Are they right?

and others who say ... "all you need is psychological safety and empowerment and ppl will figure it out"

hmm (1/n)

... I'm reminded of an environment that had an extremely strong foundation of quality (and safety, and empowerment). And exp. leaders.

In that env, a new grad would take 2-4y to really start figuring out the product thing. AND...would start contributing quickly.

and.. (2/n)

... another env with very talented/experienced folks all with 10+y experience, being mired in complete insanity. Things falling apart. Bureaucracy. Toxic company politics. It was terrible. Many people left. Some people stayed in a Sisyphean effort to fix the org.

and...(3/n)

... yet other env where extremely skilled leaders misjudged their experience and its applicability to the current situation. Stubborn. Egotistic. Hubris. They figured they were "the best in the world" bc they had worked at [famous tech co].

it bit them...bad .. (4/n)

... other interesting twist. When leaders keep talking about how their team lacks certain skills, but they themselves lack skills. They've never done it.

Or they did it 20 years ago in a completely different context. "Back with mainframes...".

Or ...(5/n)

...when leaders openly admit they don't have skills, but *also* don't trust others in the org to have the skills ... often because of outside influences (e.g. board, consultants, advisors, books).

They also underestimate the impact of their lack of confidence...

and...(6/n)

...still others who keep rattling on about "we just need the right leaders in the right roles" but there is no internal advancement, and "right" is always someone external, and "right role" is always a silver bullet org charge decision

So, it is...(7/n)

...*not* as simple as skills and experience. Fundamental attribution error is everywhere... (along with other biases).

We blame "the system" for our problems. But other people's problems are their fault.

It seems that...(8/n)

experience matters...
learning matters...
teaching matters...
being context aware matters...
challenging your biases matters...
humility and self-awareness matters...
"the system" matters...
flexibility and adaptability matters...
leadership (formal & otherwise) matters (end)