#career #engineering
6 most common reasons software engineers fail to get to Staff:

1. Weak direction - creating scope for the team is generally the hardest part; it's difficult to figure out what direction to go in an ambigious space

2. Lacking ownership mindset - You need to make the project successful, that's it. This also means you don't need to write all the code yourself

3. Reorgs or lack of scope - Sometimes your situation will get in the way of promotion. Reorgs can affect your ability to deliver on staff level scope

4. Getting attached to the solution rather than the problem - You are accountable for the impact you have, not the technology you build

5. Not being able to influence across teams - You need to be able to influence other teams without any authority over them

6. Poor conflict resolution - Staff engineers should be able to step back and manage conflicts among collaborators

Getting promoted to Staff is more about developing these behaviors rather than the raw amount of work you do. Your situation isn't always in your control, but working on your behaviors always is. Focus on developing staff behaviors.

Source: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ryanlpeterman_6-most-common-reasons-software-engineers-activity-7126652644013572096-wg1j