Engineering Growth: Moving Beyond Execution

Listening to people talking about their career is such a joy. Understanding the perspective, challenges and journey for other people is a great way to learn about them. This is one of my favorite "small-talks" tricks that helps me build personal connection with people I interact with.

Most recently, I had some discussions with friends, colleagues and mentees to learn more about how they view their career so far and what are they looking for. And I noticed that folks who are a bit earlier in their career have very unrealistic view of what it means to be on a "senior" level (or beyond).

Looking back, I realize how much clarity or understanding I lacked about what being a senior engineer actually involves and how different it is from what I initially thought.

The challenge with moving to a senior role isn’t just about getting better at coding or working more hours. It’s about stepping up in ways that go beyond the technical bit of the job. Most people who gets promoted to a senior position they often assume they’ll work exclusively on the exciting tasks.

While in reality the expectations from your teams gets shifted from relying on you as an execution force to more of a multiplier effect.

This is probably the main point that is usually missed out, being a multiplier effect is net better than being execution force. (In most cases!).

That's because when you’re focused on individual impact, your value lies in how much you can get done on your own. You’re the person who delivers, fixes, and solves problems directly. And there’s nothing wrong with that—every team needs reliable contributors. But the more senior you get the bigger you should think.

On the other hand, if your focus shifts. You’re no longer the one doing all the heavy lifting; instead, you’re championing ideas, mentoring teammates, and helping shape the bigger picture. Your impact goes from the work you do yourself to the ripple effect you create through others. This means setting others up for success, advocating for improvements, and sometimes even stepping back so others can step up.

It’s a mindset shift, and it’s not always easy. But here’s the thing: the multiplier effect isn’t just better for the team—it’s better for your own growth. It allows you to grow on multiple verticals beside the pure technical abilities. It also helps you maximize your impact and influence.

Being a senior isn’t about writing less code or working less. It’s about viewing yourself as a leader who scale the team’s impact while continuing to grow.

If you liked this post. Subscribe to the newsletter for more.