Identifying opportunties with high leverage / impact
Background : Been working at a Big tech company for the 1.5 years. But recently made a sub-team switch within the larger team, 6-months ago. We're currently working on a greenfield project.
Question : How do you go about finding / brainstorming work with high leverage, or that increases the team's productivity ? I often find myself in a state where work is mostly passed down by manager / TL. I'm looking to make a mindset shift where I can start coming up with ideas, and proposing things myself.
![Senior Software Engineer [E5] at Meta company logo](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffirebasestorage.googleapis.com%2Fv0%2Fb%2Ftech-career-growth.appspot.com%2Fo%2Fcompany_logos%252Fmeta.jpeg%3Falt%3Dmedia%26token%3Da7a5bcc0-e178-4b5b-b71e-09bf6c6aefae&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
![Entry-Level Software Engineer [L3] at Google company logo](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffirebasestorage.googleapis.com%2Fv0%2Fb%2Ftech-career-growth.appspot.com%2Fo%2Fcompany_logos%252Fgoogle.jpeg%3Falt%3Dmedia%26token%3D780356ef-3efc-4728-9eb4-d909b75bb4a6&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
Discussion
(2 comments)- 2a month agoEng @ Taro
Are there any leadership opportunities available for the greenfield project that you are working on? It sounds like it's all hands on deck to ship the new project. If the project can be split into smaller units, then you can effectively commandeer one of the units to get experience leading a project.
- 1a month agoTech Lead/Manager at Meta, Pinterest, Kosei
great question! One thing I learned from Alex is the idea of "The Googles" when he mentors mid-level engineers. The core idea here is that you want to see the world through the lens of opportunity, not limitations.
When you adopt this mindset, you can start to propose various projects or ideas that are taken into consideration. The shift from reactive to proactive is the key to seniority.
Tactically:
- Consider a problem you've come across in your workflow, or think about a natural extension to a project you're already working on.
- Talk to 2-3 people one one one to get feedback on your idea, and what change you'd need to make.
- Write a short doc, then share it with the TL/manager for consideration in a future sprint.
