Being Effective
For the past few weeks, and as we wrapped up the first quarter of the year, I was doing a retrospective if I was being effective enough in my role.
The scope of my work has been growing over time and has given me multiple managers over the last couple of years. With each new manager, I always wonder not only if I’m being efficient but also if I’m working on the right things from their perspective.
One thing that comes into play here is not only that scope grows but also the level of ownership, and in this level, ownership is where I’ve been wondering how my effectiveness has been.
Effective vs. Efficient
Effective means “producing a result that is wanted”. Efficient means “capable of producing desired results without wasting materials, time, or energy”. Britannica
When we start our software engineering careers, we care more about efficiency. We’re generally more focused on implementation, closing tickets quickly. Team leads, and managers generally give you the exact thing to implement or solve.
Effectiveness importance over time
As we grow in our careers, we go from “implementer” to “solver,” where we’re still given the problems we need to solve but have more freedom about the implementation.
These problems might be more general, but we’re still given a list of issues that need a solution. We might have conversations with our manager or skip level to adjust the list based on prioritizations, and being effective comes to the front.
Not only in the solutions we give to problems but working with your manager to choose the order to fix the problems.
Once we pass this phase, we go from “solver” to “finder.” This transition is where effectiveness comes further into the front. At this point, we’re given a lot of space, not only in how we solve problems but also in which problems we’re solving.
We’re trusted we’re solving the right problems or working on finding the right ones.
Activities with leverage
One of the things I’ve come across is the importance of not only working on the most critical problems and choosing high-leverage activities. Especially as I’m a staff engineer and don’t have a team of direct reports, high-leverage actions provide the most effectiveness from my current perspective.
Delegation
Later, delegation comes into play, I need to work with managers and their reports to find the right people to pick on the next steps of problems we’re solving. As well as setting them up for success. Being effective in delegation becomes crucial in my role.
At scale, I need more than delegation, sometimes, I go through the Eisenhower Matrix and other exercises, and the remaining work is considerable. That’s where I came across “Radical Delegation”, which has proven a good tool for keeping me focused on effectiveness.
Your Turn
Let me know how you handle being effective at work. How are you keeping tabs on working on the right problems? Do you sync with your manager about this? Do you work with peers and others around the org to understand if you’re providing the value you want?
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