Thread by @mipsytipsy

One question that has come up since I wrote this piece is why I only talk about including *senior* ICs in planning and leadership decisions. Isn't the whole point that *everyone* gets a voice?

Well, yes and no.. Mostly no. 🙃

charity.wtf/2022/09/23/the…

I'm realizing now, belatedly, that when I use the phrase "senior engineer", I am referring not to a particular level, but an engineer who I would think of as "fully baked".

Software is an apprentice industry. The first 7-8 (5-10?) years you are doing intense skills acquisition.

There are plenty of heuristics for when you hit that level, but no hard rules. On most job ladders, it is described as "able to work independently, mentor others".

During that phase of your career, if you're lucky, you will be intensely tutored by more senior engineers/managers.

To the extent that you are participating in high level planning and team stuff, it is with the training wheels on. It's for your own benefit, not the org's.

I want to emphasize that these years can be *very hard*. You may find yourself struggling for long hours, or working late.

I say this because I've seen juniors not put in the work, and get deeply frustrated.

They are looking at the engineers around them who think nothing of leaving at 4 or 5 pm, or who are fixing bugs from the sidelines at their kid's ball game, while they have to grind it out.

All the caveats apply; yes they need mentors, no I'm not suggesting 100-hour weeks, etc.

It is *hard* training your brain to do this very unnatural thing. This doesn't mean you aren't cut out for writing software. It takes hard work and perseverance, but you will get there. 💜

There comes a point in your career where it stops taking every cell of your body to make progress, where you too can kick back and decide how hard you want to work.

I drew this graph ages ago when Emily and I were talking about this, lol --

The other thing I want to be clear on is that no -- I was not saying that "everybody should be involved in everything". Hell to the no.

Hierarchy works *because* it pairs decision-making with ability to execute, and because each team is an abstraction represented by its manager.

I'm just saying all the decisions shouldn't be made by the same few people, over and over. Senior+ ICs are just as capable of owning major initiatives.

Decisions are usually best made by the smallest possible number of stakeholders. (RACI/DACI frameworks help make this explicit)