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Climbing off the Ladder, Before we fall off. Or how I began to think about nonlinear career development. Who is this Chris Angove person?. Graduated with BS in CS from the University of Michigan Spent 10 years as a C++ Developer Started leading in 2005 (reluctantly)
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Climbing off the Ladder, Before we fall off. Or how I began to think about nonlinear career development
Who is this Chris Angove person? • Graduated with BS in CS from the University of Michigan • Spent 10 years as a C++ Developer • Started leading in 2005 (reluctantly) • Associate Director of Engineering at Amplify in Brooklyn in 2012 • Joined Spotify as a Chapter Lead in 2013 • Always been interested in engineering culture and career development
Began with Agile, but process got in the way • At beginning process was vital to creating the team • As we grow, teams tried to figure out how to remain agile • Implement new structure in 2012 • Continuously tweaking process
Alignment & Autonomy False dichotomy Do what I say! Alignment Autonomy Do whatever Henrik Kniberg
We need to cross the river We need to cross the river Aligned Autonomy! Build a bridge! Authoritative organization Innovative organization Figure out how! Conformist culture Collaborative culture High Alignment Hope someone is working on the river problem… Entrepreneurial organization Micromanaging organization Chaotic culture Indifferent culture Low Alignment Low Autonomy High Autonomy Henrik Kniberg
Not so original, original idea Tribe PO PO PO PO Tribe Tribe lead Chapter Chapter PO PO PO PO Tribe lead Guild Chapter Chapter
Reality is Messy! PO PO PO PO PO PO PO Tribe Tribe PO Tribe lead Tribe lead Chapter Guild Chapter
Aligned Autonomy- be autonomous, but don’t suboptimize- Spotify’s mission > Squad’s mission Henrik Kniberg
Mutual respect My colleagues are awesome! Ego Henrik Kniberg
The Linear Ladder Walking the usual path
CTO VP of Engineering Director of Engineering Team Lead Architect Senior Software Engineer Junior Developer Intern
Each rung is clearly tied to role and responsibility • The Benefits of the Ladder
Path of Career Development is Clear • The Benefits of the Ladder
Easy to get Resources • The Benefits of the Ladder
Value added to the company is obvious to all • The Benefits of the Ladder
Explicit path for respect and being recognized for achievements • The Benefits of the Ladder
What’s the Danger? Simplicity sometimes has it’s cost
Reality is rarely simple, more often it’s messy • What’s wrong with the ladder
We have usually preferred to keep structure flat, only defining positions based on role not seniority • What’s wrong with the ladder
The only way to add value is predefined by structure • What’s wrong with the ladder
May not have the skill set or interest for the next level on the ladder • What’s wrong with the ladder
No way to try out things, moving down the ladder is difficult • What’s wrong with the ladder
Creates a factory to eject people due to limited management positions • What’s wrong with the ladder
May promote people beyond their abilities and thus out of the company • What’s wrong with the ladder
Ultimately it provides simplicity at the cost of actual career development • What’s wrong with the ladder
Assumes plateauing at a specific role is bad, but why? • What’s wrong with the ladder
There has to be a better way! • What’s wrong with the ladder Right?!?!
Multiple Ladders An increasingly popular approach
Creates a technology track to reduce skillset/interest mismatches • The Technology Ladder
Clearly sets up easy ways to recognize accomplishments • The Technology Ladder
Still very clear routes and roles setup as in linear ladder • The Technology Ladder
But…. • The Technology Ladder
Limited as it still sets up explicit roles • The Technology Ladder
Usually gets muddled (http://bit.ly/1oS7H9l) • The Technology Ladder
Still assumes that the only way to grow is through more responsibility/control • The Technology Ladder
Does not answer how to experiment and switch roles • The Technology Ladder
A non-linear approach What we call Add - Ons
Roles defined by institutional need, not career advancement • A nonlinear model
Add-ons add both personal as well as business value • A nonlinear model
Interest and skill-set define which add-on the engineer chooses • A nonlinear model
It is engineer driven but supported by the company • A nonlinear model Manager works with the engineer Trainings, sessions, workshops provided as needed Time off to participate in events approved
Driving forces: • A nonlinear model
Do things; tell people • A nonlinear model You’re doing cool stuff that others would benefit from hearing about You’re passionate about something and you’d like to see more of it You’d like recognition for your efforts
Try Something New • A nonlinear model Work is great but getting a little bored You’d like to try something new, but not stop what you are doing Not sure you want to risk switching roles completely
Get out of the Comfort Zone • A nonlinear model You’d like to acquire new skills You need to push yourself in a new direction Shake things up to see what latent skills are there
Employee chooses add-ons or creates a new one: • A nonlinear model Define Goal Define Success Metrics Define Help Needed