I used to be a Senior Principal Software Engineer at Raytheon (ages ago). There are a lot of things that block engineers from advancing, and they should. Any engineer who does not support the following activities will have a hard time advancing.
- Documentation - if you never leave a trail of breadcrumbs, you will be stuck answering the same questions about your code for years to come.
- Avoiding self-directed changes - many software engineers have a desire to make small tweaks to code when there was no justifiable need. If the product works properly, leave it alone. If there are issues with the product, submit a change request so your changes can be funded.
- Not focusing on the big picture - the key to advancement is positive exposure to senior management. They want people who think at the architectural level, understand the impacts of process mechanics, can spot a vendor pushing vaporware, and realize cost and profit matter.
- The 12-year-old dress code - it does get in the way. If you want the senior folks to take you as a professional, try to do better than the Metallica T shirt with shorts and flip-flops. Executives like to have their senior people in tow. Executives do not want to be reminded of the disaffected teens they raised.
- Never call your guess a fact - this will burn you faster than the President. You never want to feed an executive with an incorrect and unqualified hunch. I have seen employees used as floss after supplying a bad guess.
A former Raytheon CEO had a set of rules. Look for Swanson’s rules. There is a funny and dark story behind the rules. Raytheon PR mistakenly oversold these off as Swanson’s rules, but he was referencing someone else’s work.
Source: Quora
Swanson's Unwritten Rules of Management: https://www.leadershipnow.com/minute0014.html
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