Expanding Responsibilities as a Senior Engineering Leader

L7+ engineering roles now require business strategy skills. Technical depth alone won't get you promoted to Staff+ levels anymore. Here's what's changed: Basic coding can be handled by AI and machine learning tools. The value of senior engineers isn't in writing more code. It's in understanding business impact. From my experience coaching L6+ engineers, the promotion criteria has completely shifted: 📢 You need to think like a leader, not just a technical expert. Can you differentiate between a billion-dollar project and a 500-million-dollar project? Do you understand which engineering efforts actually move revenue? ✅ Cross-functional collaboration is non-negotiable. You can't just be the brilliant engineer who works in isolation. You need to influence product decisions, work with sales teams, and communicate technical trade-offs to non-technical stakeholders. 💪 P&L thinking becomes essential. Senior engineering managers aren't measured by hours worked or lines of code. They're measured by business impact. Is this feature worth the engineering investment? How does this technical decision affect organizational goals? 🔥 Strategic vision matters more than technical perfection. L7+ engineers are expected to step outside traditional engineering boundaries. You're not just implementing requirements - you're helping shape the product roadmap. The engineers who get laid off first? Those who think their job is only technical execution. The ones who get promoted? Those who understand that engineering serves business objectives, not the other way around. If you're targeting Staff+ roles, start speaking business language. Understand your organization's revenue model. Know how your technical decisions impact customer outcomes. Technical excellence is table stakes. Business acumen is what separates L7+ from everyone else. What business metric does your current project actually impact?

A client was drowning in his new tech lead role. Because no one told him this one obvious thing: → Tech lead responsibilities aren’t stacked on top of your senior dev work. They collide with it. You might be thinking, “Well yeah, that sounds straightforward.” But it isn’t. What helped me realize it was one of his questions: “How am I supposed to manage all of this and still do my job as a senior dev?” That question hit me 🤯 Because the answer is: You’re not supposed to keep doing your job the same way. The transition into tech leadership is all about multiplying impact: So yes - you’re still helping your team members grow But it’s no longer just 1:1 mentoring Now you’ve got more tools: → Pairing people up to learn from each other → Helping them find the right learning resources → Co-creating growth plans → Creating space for people to teach and support one another And yes - you’re still coding Just probably less .. so your team can code more 😊 You’re still expected to stay close to the team daily But that might be less than before as now you’ll also be pulled into higher-level conversations, planning, and strategy. It’s not about doing more. It’s about doing differently 😉

When we, as engineers, advance in our careers and assume more senior roles, we need to develop a strong understanding of business concepts and principles. It goes beyond our technical expertise and becomes crucial for our professional growth. Why? - Expanded Perspective: Senior engineers are responsible for more than just technical tasks. We need to grasp how our work aligns with the organization's goals, market dynamics, and customer needs. This broader perspective helps us make informed decisions and contribute to the company's success. - Collaboration with Other Departments: With increased seniority, we often collaborate closely with teams from different areas, such as marketing, finance, and sales. Having a solid understanding of business enables effective communication and cooperation with these teams, ensuring that everyone is on the same page. - Strategic Decision-making: Senior engineers participate in strategic decision-making processes, such as product roadmapping and resource allocation. By considering technical feasibility alongside business viability, we can make well-rounded decisions that benefit the organization in the long run. - Project Management and Resource Allocation: Some senior engineers are entrusted with managing projects, teams, and budgets. We must strike a balance between technical requirements, project deadlines, and resource allocation, all while considering budget constraints. Business knowledge equips us with the skills to make sound decisions and ensure successful outcomes. - Leadership and Communication: As we progress in our careers, we often find ourselves in leadership roles. Effective leadership entails clear communication, setting expectations, and motivating the team. Understanding business concepts allows us to articulate the value of our team's work to stakeholders and drive alignment with business objectives. In summary, as we climb the ladder of seniority as engineers, developing business knowledge becomes vital. It empowers us to have a broader perspective, collaborate effectively with other departments, make strategic decisions, manage projects and resources efficiently, and provide effective leadership. By combining technical expertise with business acumen, we can contribute to both technical excellence and the overall success of the organization.

Senior to Staff Security Engineer: From Execution to Orchestrator Moving from Senior to Staff Security Engineer is a fundamental transformation in how you approach your craft and influence the organization. I can't stress enough that it's an entirely different job. It's a bit like shifting from playing the violin to leading a jazz orchestra, expanding beyond technical expertise to strategic problem-solving. Today, we'll look at three examples through the lens of security engineering. 1. From Problem Solver to Strategic Problem Identifier: We must move from solving immediate security challenges to identifying which problems fundamentally uplevel or accelerate our organizational security posture. This requires seeing beyond charters or the domain you specialize in to recognize patterns that could improve multiple facets of our charter. Still, my expectation is staff+ engineers still see work through execution but they are thoughtful on when it makes sense to transition to focus on other areas. How To Apply: Examine the last six months of security incidents and bug bounty, looking for patterns/trends and their potential impact on business initiatives. Then, consider opportunities that would disrupt those patterns and trends holistically. 2. From Technical Expert to Business <> Technical Translator: Evolving from articulating technical concepts to peers toward translating complex problems or opportunities into business value language. This allows you to influence and work effectively with senior leaders across multiple teams, helping get the right projects funded. How To Apply: Practice! Take a security project you are working on and work to establish its leverage in a business context, aligned with company goals or strategies. GPT is your friend in brainstorming. 3. From Personal Impact to Scaling Through Others: Transforming from individual technical excellence to creating environments where teams consistently produce exceptional security strategies and execution. I say creating environments because an environment can scale by enabling everyone to produce great strategy and execute efficiently. How to Apply: Identify at least one gap in the strategic lifecycle where you work and examine what constraints, guidance, or frameworks would allow people to move faster and more confidently. You can work on these skills today, which will help you be more effective in a senior engineering role as well. Let me know in the comments if you have other observations or questions about what it's like to work in a staff+ role.

If everything depends on you, you’re not a leader. You’re a bottleneck. Start multiplying your value through ideas and systems – that’s how you create compounding growth. Example: An engineering leader: • Reviews every “critical” PR • Joins every important meeting • Approves every architectural decision Things move forward, but only as fast as their calendar. The team is busy. The leader is exhausted. Velocity hits a ceiling. Then they change the game: • Define clear decision guardrails → what must be escalated vs what teams can decide • Assign ownership of domains to senior ICs → “You own reliability / you own payments / you own infra” • Shift focus from approving everything to reviewing systems & metrics What happens? • More decisions made without them • Faster shipping with fewer blockers • Seniors grow, juniors get clearer paths, and the leader finally has time to think long-term Leadership isn’t “I’ll handle it.” Leadership is designing a system where things work without you. If you vanished for 2 weeks, would your team slow down… or keep compounding? #EngineeringLeadership #TechLeadership #ScalingImpact #SystemsThinking #SoftwareEngineering #CareerAdvice #Leadership #Management

A few years ago, I sat with a senior leader reviewing her 360-degree feedback. She was confident her team felt stretched to capacity. But the surveys told a different story. They were hungry for more. This is a pattern we see year after year. Across hundreds of feedback reviews, the message is remarkably consistent: “Give us greater responsibility. Let us contribute in more meaningful ways.” Yet many leaders hesitate. They worry delegation might be selfish: piling on when people are already busy. The reality is, when you delegate a meaningful project (not busywork), you’re sending a powerful signal that says: I trust you. I believe in your ability, and I see your potential. Stretch assignments create growth. They expand skills, open doors to new relationships, and broaden perspectives. They also create space for you, the leader, to focus on the strategic work only you can do. This isn’t taking from your team; it’s investing in them. It isn’t selfish; it’s leadership.

How do you get to the C-suite? Spoiler: It’s not just about titles or promotions. For me, it started when I solved a problem no one asked me to fix. I was leading engineering at a Fortune 500 company. Customers were frustrated, and our product cycle was way too slow. We were profitable—so leadership wasn’t too concerned. But I knew we were at risk of losing our biggest clients. So I took action. I introduced agile development, rallied my team, and mapped out a better path forward. The challenge? I had no authority over the other departments we needed to make it work. So I built alliances. I earned trust. I advocated for others, shared credit, and made the case for change. Eventually, we turned the business around—and that experience launched my path to the C-suite. Here’s what truly paved the way for me and what I see in other successful senior leaders: ✅ Step Up and Own It: Don't wait for an assignment. Identify critical business problems and proactively seek solutions, even if they fall outside your direct responsibilities. ✅ Lead with Influence, Not Just Authority: True leadership isn't about a title; it's about your ability to inspire and guide others, even without formal power. Build relationships and earn trust. ✅ Resilience is Key: The path to leadership is rarely smooth. Be prepared to persevere through challenges and setbacks. Keep driving forward even when the going gets tough. ✅ Rally Others Around a Shared Vision: Effective leaders can articulate a compelling vision and inspire their teams and stakeholders to work collaboratively toward common goals. ✅ Embrace and Drive Change: The business landscape is constantly evolving. Senior leaders are not just adaptable; they are often the catalysts for necessary transformation. If you're already embodying these principles – stepping up, leading through influence, showing resilience, rallying people, and driving change – you're doing the foundational work of a C-suite leader. Ready to take that senior leadership potential and turn it into C-suite reality? I offer coaching to help you navigate that journey, focusing on these very principles. Or, if you're looking for a practical guide to mastering these skills and leading organizational transformation at any level, check out my book, 'The TRIUMPH Framework: 7 Steps to Leading Organizational Transformation.' Let's work together to get you there.

One of the most overlooked skills in tech: Knowing how to ask for more scope and doing it strategically. I’ve coached engineers who waited months, sometimes years, hoping someone would “notice” they were ready for more. Here’s the truth: At the senior level, scope isn’t always given. You have to ask for it, clearly and confidently. Here’s how to do it well: 1. Look for alignment gaps. What’s falling through the cracks between teams? What problems aren’t being owned yet? 2. Propose, don’t just request. Come with a suggestion. “I noticed X isn’t getting much traction, I’d love to take ownership and move it forward.” 3. Tie it to impact. Show how your involvement supports business goals, improves velocity, or reduces risk. Make the case. Asking for scope doesn’t make you difficult. It makes you a leader. And it shows you’re thinking beyond your lane, exactly what senior engineers are expected to do. Help me share this post and let’s help more engineers.

If I could give one piece of advice to managers who want to step into more senior roles, it’s this: Master the art of context switching.   Last year, my role expanded from leading Social Media to overseeing our Media Intelligence team – a round-the-clock reputational monitoring and insights operation – as well as our newly formed Engineering Center Communications team, which handles internal comms with our engineers and talent attraction in India, Greece, Mexico, and Colombia.   By nature of the position, dozens of different issues and questions come across my desk every day. It’s a luxury to spend an hour focused on one topic.   There’s plenty of research showing that frequent context switching is a drain on productivity, but it’s a necessary reality for most leadership roles. The key is figuring out how to do it effectively. Here are some tactics that work for me:   𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐫𝐡𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐦𝐬. I love reviewing emails over coffee first thing in the morning and giving my team quick, actionable feedback to empower them on the day ahead. I usually do this at 7am before heading to the office so that I’m not multitasking during morning meetings.  Afternoons are less meeting-heavy, so I dedicate time to 1:1s and moving key projects forward. If I need to review a larger deliverable and offer detailed feedback, I put time in the calendar so I can work uninterrupted.   𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞. Just because we blocked 30 minutes doesn’t mean we need to fill that time up. I like wrapping a meeting 5 minutes early and immediately actioning the next steps we discussed. If there are quick hand-off tasks to be done, I get them done right away – I try not to carry an ever-expanding to-do list (and the associated mental load) from day to day, week to week.   𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲. I developed a habit of documenting every piece of work that I delegate so that team members have record of my expectations. When I delegate, I explain that the person fully owns the assignment and needs to proactively drive it forward. I maintain a list of delegated work to check-in on progress. This helps me mentally “let go” of tasks and empower the team.   𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐫𝐨-𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠. Managing oneself and maintaining an even keel is critical, especially in the face of the tough conversations that come with leadership. When I notice myself carrying an emotion, I write a few quick notes on my phone – what I’m feeling, what triggered the feeling, and what I can do about it. Taking a couple minutes to do this helps me compartmentalize and move onto the next thing.   Let me know if you find this useful. I enjoy writing about leadership, and if there’s an audience, I’ll do more of it.   In the spirit of context switching, here’s a selfie from earlier this week when I visited the Statue of Liberty – my first time there in 13 years of living in NYC!

Transitioning into leadership doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Follow this blueprint for a smooth start. Are you stuck between being an individual contributor and becoming a tech lead? Most senior engineers make one critical mistake during this transition. They keep solving technical problems themselves instead of empowering their teams to do it. Here’s why this is a problem: • You’re holding your team back from growing their skills • You’re overwhelmed by tasks that aren’t yours to handle any more • And worst of all? Your team sees you as “one of them,” not the leader they need Here’s how to break free: • Delegate deliberately. Assign tasks that challenge your team, even if you can do them faster. • Focus on the big picture. Prioritize team goals, timelines, and outcomes over writing code. • Communicate relentlessly. Keep your team aligned with clear objectives and regular feedback. • Be the coach, not the hero. Teach your team how to solve problems, rather than solving them yourself. The result? You’ll gain respect as a leader, scale your impact, and create a team that performs at its best—even without you in the room. What are the skills you feel you need to work on to become a tech leader?