Setting goals as a senior individual contributor - LeadDev Berlin 2022

In this talk, you’ll learn how to define your development journey as a senior individual contributor, figuring out what you should be working on, how to set your goals, and how to you define your backlog of work. You’ll also learn how to track your progress so you can keep growing as an engineering leader in the individual contributor track.

Transcript

1. November 2022 LeadDev Berlin
   Sabrina Leandro
   @saleandro
   Setting goals
   
   
   as a senior
   
   
   individual contributor
   

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2. Setting goals
   
   
   as a senior
   
   
   individual contributor?
   

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3. It depends…
   

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4. Setting goals
   
   
   as a senior+|staff|
   principal|…
   
   
   individual contributor
   

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5. November 2022 LeadDev Berlin
   Sabrina Leandro
   @saleandro
   You
   Team
   Team
   Team
   

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6. Sabrina Leandro
   @saleandro
   What’s
   changed?
   You’re not working as part of
   a team anymore
   What are my goals? 🤔
   

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7. Sabrina Leandro
   @saleandro
   You’re not part of team
   rituals
   How do I know what’s going
   on? 🤔
   What’s
   changed?
   

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8. Sabrina Leandro
   @saleandro
   Your work is more than
   coding
   What else should I be
   doing?! 🤔
   What’s
   changed?
   

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9. Setting goals
   
   
   as a senior
   
   
   individual contributor
   

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10. November 2022 LeadDev Berlin
    Sabrina Leandro
    @saleandro
    🙀 BUSY WORK 💻
    

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11. November 2022 LeadDev Berlin
    Sabrina Leandro
    @saleandro
    High impact work
    

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12. You create it!
    

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13. November 2022 LeadDev Berlin
    Sabrina Leandro
    @saleandro
    November 2022 LeadDev Berlin
    Sabrina Leandro
    @saleandro
    1. List all inputs
    Business and product strategies
    Teams’ needs
    Engineering Org’s needs
    

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14. November 2022 LeadDev Berlin
    Sabrina Leandro
    @saleandro
    November 2022 LeadDev Berlin
    Sabrina Leandro
    @saleandro
    1. List all inputs
    Business and product strategies
    Teams’ needs
    Engineering Org’s needs
    Tip for managers:
    Share business
    context
    

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15. November 2022 LeadDev Berlin
    Sabrina Leandro
    @saleandro
    November 2022 LeadDev Berlin
    Sabrina Leandro
    @saleandro
    2. Prioritise inputs
    Riskiest areas or projects
    Personal growth goals
    Company needs
    

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16. November 2022 LeadDev Berlin
    Sabrina Leandro
    @saleandro
    November 2022 LeadDev Berlin
    Sabrina Leandro
    @saleandro
    2. Prioritise inputs
    Riskiest areas or projects
    Personal growth goals
    Company needs
    Tip for managers:
    Help connect to
    performance review
    

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17. November 2022 LeadDev Berlin
    Sabrina Leandro
    @saleandro
    November 2022 LeadDev Berlin
    Sabrina Leandro
    @saleandro
    3. Trim it down
    Are there opportunities for delegation?
    

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18. November 2022 LeadDev Berlin
    Sabrina Leandro
    @saleandro
    November 2022 LeadDev Berlin
    Sabrina Leandro
    @saleandro
    3. Trim it down
    Are there opportunities for delegation?
    Tip for managers:
    Help find other
    owners
    

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19. November 2022 LeadDev Berlin
    Sabrina Leandro
    @saleandro
    Write it down
    

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20. Sabrina’s document format
    

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21. Sabrina’s document format
    

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22. Sabrina’s document format
    

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23. Sabrina’s document format
    

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24. An example
    

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25. November 2022 LeadDev Berlin
    Sabrina Leandro
    @saleandro
    Share it
    

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26. Sabrina Leandro
    @saleandro
    Get
    
    
    feedback
    from…
    your manager
    your peers
    your cross-discipline peers
    

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27. Sabrina Leandro
    @saleandro
    Share
    
    
    Your goals
    What you’ll do to deliver on your
    goals
    How you’ll work with teams
    

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28. November 2022 LeadDev Berlin
    Sabrina Leandro
    @saleandro
    Repeat
    

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29. Sabrina’s timeline
    Quarterly goals
    Cycle 2
    Cycle goals Cycle goals
    Week
    

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30. Track progress
    Quarterly goals
    Cycle goals Cycle 2
    Week
    Cycle goals
    

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31. Sabrina Leandro
    @saleandro
    If When
    things change
    Missing context? Re-prioritise
    or delegate
    No changes? Say “no not now”
    and use as input for next goal
    setting period
    

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32. Setting goals
    
    
    as a senior
    
    
    individual contributor
    

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33. Sabrina Leandro
    @saleandro
    What about
    coding?
    Prioritise as any other goal
    Define why you want to do it
    Spot problems and use as input
    for new goals
    

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34. Setting goals
    
    
    as a senior
    
    
    individual contributor
    and more…
    

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35. Sabrina Leandro
    @saleandro
    Beyond goal
    setting
    Onboarding: Role introduction
    Focus: Saying “no” or
    reprioritising
    Motivation: Seeing the big
    picture
    Growth: Performance reviews
    

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36. What’s next for you?
    

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37. November 2022
    Sabrina Leandro
    @saleandro
    Summary
    Create your backlog
    Prioritise & trim it down
    Get feedback
    Break it down & track progress
    Repeat!
    Setting goals as a
    senior individual
    contributor
    

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38. November 2022 LeadDev Berlin
    Sabrina Leandro
    @saleandro
    Thank you!
    Join me at Office Hours
    👋
    

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39. November 2022 LeadDev Berlin
    Sabrina Leandro
    @saleandro
    November 2022 LeadDev Berlin
    Sabrina Leandro
    @saleandro
    https://www.intercom.com/blog/engineering-management-benefits/
    https://charity.wtf/2017/05/11/the-engineer-manager-pendulum/
    https://staffeng.com/guides/staff-archetypes/
    https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/the-staff-engineers/9781098118723/
    References
    

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