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April 18, 2023
Or how I began to think about nonlinear career development
Climbing off the Ladder, Before we fall off.
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Who is this Chris Angove person?
Graduated with BS in CS from the University of MichiganSpent 10 years as a C++ DeveloperStarted leading in 2005 (reluctantly)Associate Director of Engineering at Amplify in Brooklyn in 2012Joined Spotify as a Chapter Lead in 2013Always been interested in engineering culture and career development
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Quick Overview of Spotify
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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
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Alignment & Autonomy
Henrik Kniberg
Alignment
Do what I say!
Do what I say!
Autonomy
Do whatev
er
Do whatev
er
False dichotomy
False dichotomy
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HighAlignment
High Autonomy
Build a bridge!Build a bridge!
MicromanagingorganizationIndifferent culture
Entrepreneurialorganization
Chaoticculture
AuthoritativeorganizationConformist culture
Innovativeorganization
Collaborative culture
We need to cross the
river
We need to cross the
river Figure out how!
Figure out how!
We need to cross the
river
We need to cross the
river
LowAlignment
Low Autonomy
Hope someone is working on
the river problem…
Hope someone is working on
the river problem…
Aligned Autonomy!
Henrik Kniberg
8Not so original, original idea
PO PO PO
Tribe
Tribe lead
PO PO PO PO
Tribe
Chapter
Chapter
Tribe lead
PO
Chapter
Chapter Guild
9Reality is Messy!
PO PO PO
Tribe
Tribe lead
PO PO PO PO
Tribe
Tribe lead
PO
Chapter
Chapter Guild
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Aligned Autonomy- be autonomous, but don’t suboptimize- Spotify’s mission > Squad’s mission
Henrik Kniberg
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Mutual respect
My colleagues are awesome!My colleagues are awesome!
Ego
Henrik Kniberg
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Walking the usual path
The Linear Ladder
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Intern
Junior Developer
Senior Software Engineer
Architect
Team Lead
Director of Engineering
VP of Engineering
CTO
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Each rung is clearly tied to role and responsibility
The Benefits of the Ladder
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Path of Career Development is Clear
The Benefits of the Ladder
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Easy to get Resources
The Benefits of the Ladder
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Value added to the company is obvious to all
The Benefits of the Ladder
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Explicit path for respect and being recognized for achievements
The Benefits of the Ladder
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Simplicity sometimes has it’s cost
What’s the Danger?
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Reality is rarely simple, more often it’s messy
What’s wrong with the ladder
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We have usually preferred to keep structure flat, only defining positions based on role not seniority
What’s wrong with the ladder
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The only way to add value is predefined by structure
What’s wrong with the ladder
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May not have the skill set or interest for the next level on the ladder
What’s wrong with the ladder
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No way to try out things, moving down the ladder is difficult
What’s wrong with the ladder
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Creates a factory to eject people due to limited management positions
What’s wrong with the ladder
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May promote people beyond their abilities and thus out of the company
What’s wrong with the ladder
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Ultimately it provides simplicity at the cost of actual career development
What’s wrong with the ladder
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Assumes plateauing at a specific role is bad, but why?
What’s wrong with the ladder
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There has to be a better way!
What’s wrong with the ladder
Right?!?!
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An increasingly popular approach
Multiple Ladders
31The Technology Ladder
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Creates a technology track to reduce skillset/interest mismatches
The Technology Ladder
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Clearly sets up easy ways to recognize accomplishments
The Technology Ladder
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Still very clear routes and roles setup as in linear ladder
The Technology Ladder
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But….
The Technology Ladder
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Limited as it still sets up explicit roles
The Technology Ladder
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Usually gets muddled (http://bit.ly/1oS7H9l)
The Technology Ladder
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Still assumes that the only way to grow is through more responsibility/control
The Technology Ladder
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Does not answer how to experiment and switch roles
The Technology Ladder
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What we call Add - Ons
A non-linear approach
41A nonlinear model
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Roles defined by institutional need, not career advancement
A nonlinear model
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Add-ons add both personal as well as business value
A nonlinear model
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Interest and skill-set define which add-on the engineer chooses
A nonlinear model
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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
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Driving forces:
A nonlinear model
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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
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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
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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
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Employee chooses add-ons or creates a new one:
A nonlinear model
Define Goal
Define Success Metrics
Define Help Needed
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A Few Examples
A nonlinear model
Speaker
Trainer
Coach
Mentor
Writer
Architect
Evangelist
Road Manager
Open Sourcer
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This is a work in progress
A nonlinear model
Testing our hypothesis now
Initial steps in 2013 were a bit slow
But we’re refining, check back with us soon!
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This is not solved we need to innovateYes this is a call to action!Email me [email protected]
What are your ideas?
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Check out spotify.com/jobs or @Spotifyjobs for more information.
Want to join the band?
