How to remove political roadblocks to grab your well-deserved promotion?
They try to pull you down, you try to bring them along your way!
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How to remove political roadblocks to grab your promotion?
Quote: Software is eating the world!
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How to remove political roadblocks to grab your promotion?
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Let’s say you are a practical, visionary Software Engineer who:
knows deeply about the systems that you own, and remains always at the forefront of innovation and improvements
drives technological advancements in the team or the organization you operate in.
you adjust your approach to suit the current circumstances and environment.
you judge the relative importance of all the factors affecting a project and use your experience to produce appropriate solutions.
In short, you are pragmatic enough and know your sh*t. 😉
Yet, you feel frustrated. Political hurdles, processes, and people slow you down. Despite your expertise, there's skepticism about your proposals, as the company culture hesitates with individual engineers making revolutionary decisions. Despite earning trust, speculations persist on how your proposals could disrupt everything. People pull you down and try to question your every move
Well, every such obstacle slows down your promotion, despite being on your dream team, company, and skillset!
So, how to clear the clutter and noise on your ascent to promotion?
Make a ‘Stone Soup’
Let me explain the solution with the most fascinating tale I've ever encountered, inspired by the chapter on philosophy from the book ‘The Pragmatic Programmer’.
Three soldiers, returning home after a war, found themselves quite hungry. They reached a village in search of food to satisfy their hunger, only to discover locked doors and closed windows. The villagers, facing a shortage of food, were keen on hoarding what they had.
Undeterred, the soldiers devised a plan. They boiled a pot of water and placed three stones into it. Intrigued villagers emerged to witness the soldiers' unusual activity.
The soldiers explained that this was a "Stone Soup." When a villager inquired, "Is that all you put in?" the soldiers replied, "Absolutely, but some say it tastes even better if we add a few carrots." Upon hearing this, a villager hurried away and returned with a basket of carrots.
A few minutes later, another villager inquired, "Is that all?"
The soldiers responded, "Well, a couple of potatoes could further enhance the taste." Once again, a villager hurried to return with some potatoes to be added to the soup.
Over the following hours, the soldiers continued to suggest ingredients that would elevate the soup. Different villagers ran off to bring back the specified ingredients.
Finally, the soldiers removed the stones from the soup, and together with the villagers, they sat down to relish the steamy broth.
So, what did you learn from this?
Create an MVP: Embark on your journey like a soldier by starting with prototyping. Showcase a vision that works in its Minimal Viable Product (MVP) form, making it tangible and relatable.
Act as a Catalyst: Invoke curiosity and interest in others by intriguingly presenting your prototype. Illustrate how your vision can significantly benefit them, and watch as their support and collaboration naturally follow.
Make it win-win: Ensure that the end result benefits everyone involved, and not just you.
Ask for forgiveness, not permission - ‘Get Started and get Sh*t Done’
The biggest key takeaway that you should take from this is that despite having the vision to execute the project right away;
You ask for permission too much…
‘And you meet with delays and blank stares. People form committees, the budget will need approval and things get complicated.’
Rather just get started and showcase that stuff really works and make others take a pie of success from your work and see the magic.
The only risk here is that, despite working in isolation for quite some time to prove your idea, you may still not see the light in the end. However, it doesn't make a huge difference to your current situation, so just do it!
I don’t think you will ever make a blunder in this approach, but if you end up pissing someone off, ask for forgiveness.
Soothe their perspective - they are right about ‘Boiling Frog’
In the previous story, it’s important to understand the reason behind the initial resistance from villagers!
Why did they behave the way they behaved?
It’s because they have seen enough “Boiling frogs” in their experience. The metaphor suggests that giving too much freedom and autonomy to people allows uncontrollable situations to evolve gradually without notice.
Let’s understand it:
If you drop a frog into boiling water, it will jump immediately.
If you place a frog in a pan of cold water and gradually heat it up, the frog won’t notice the temperature change and will stay there until cooked.
Make Friends along the way
Similarly in the software world, the systems start falling apart without notice if you don’t give enough speculation. The Codebase expands uncontrollably and becomes hard to change, processes become so rigid, deployments slow down, and whatnot.
That is why build relationships with these speculators and try to balance out the situation with ‘Stone Soup’.
Quote: Software is eating the world!
In 2011, Marc Andreessen made a widely recognized statement, asserting that "software is consuming the world."
Subsequently, we have witnessed transformations in various sectors, with companies adapting or facing challenges in light of the impact of entities like Amazon, Netflix, Airbnb, and others.
Some of the text from his famous blog:
Photography, of course, was eaten by software long ago. It’s virtually impossible to buy a mobile phone that doesn’t include a software-powered camera.
On LinkedIn, employees can maintain their own resumes for recruiters to search in real-time.
In today’s cars, the software runs the engines, controls safety features, entertains passengers, guides drivers to destinations, and connects each car to mobile, satellite, and GPS networks.
My thoughts:
As Artificial Intelligence (AI) accelerates the evolution of the software world at an astonishing pace, this statement is going to be even more relevant going forward.
Ability to process vast amounts of data, learn from patterns, and automate complex tasks revolutionizes the way we approach software development.
It’s time for us as software Engineers to ramp up to see the world changing in front of our eyes and contribute towards it by learning newer skills every day.
In case you missed my previous articles…
Secret to become a Staff+ Engineer swiftly
How earth's rotation caused Software Systems to go down?
Why do we fall short Despite Intelligence and Skill Excellence?
The Art of Empowering Others with Influential Leadership: Spreading Joy and Happiness
Dispelling Career Advice Myths in the Tech World
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Be the change you want to see,
Gourav Khanijoe
Let’s admit it!
It’s way difficult to deal with political humans than with systems.
In this edition of my newsletter, I am revealing how we can solve the political hurdles and make them friends on your path to promotion.
Your feedback is greatly appreciated!