I especially liked the part about friction - as a manager/director, reducing friction for our teams is also a great way to choose hands-on tasks.
During a retro a few months ago, engineers raised again how difficult it is to clone objects from the production to QA buckets, based on specific requirements. There was some Jenkins job, but it copied tons of not needed shit and took hours each time.
This is a task that involves multiple teams - the QA, DevOps, and another engineering team. I could have asked someone to do it, but I felt it’s a good choice of a task for myself, to feel the process. Took me a couple of weeks, I learned a lot, and made the life of my team (and the whole R&D) a bit easier.
Amazing post, Jordan! Chaitali’s journey is truly inspiring—her balance of glue, grit, and friction is a powerful roadmap for career growth. I love how she turned challenges into promotable opportunities while staying sustainable. These are invaluable lessons for anyone aiming to scale quickly in their career. 👏 Thank you for sharing this!
First, the article brings really good insights and concepts from a real experience, that is not seen so often. Thank you both for writing it.
I found the Glue work part a bit confusing, especially in the beginning. It says that you are doing a lot of mentoring, reviewing designs and talking to partner teams, then says that Glue work is the "less-glamorous tasks", and then says you are doing too much Glue work.
The key point seems to be how we define "less-glamorous tasks." I think most software engineers would consider design and coding less glamorous compared to mentoring and reviewing designs.
Perhaps the difference is in what an individual considers "glamorous" or "fulfilling" vs what companies consider "rewardable". In most big tech companies, design and coding work are rewarded more at the junior levels while mentoring, reviewing designs and talking to partner teams are rewarded more at senior levels. There is also an expectation of balance at all levels so too much of either is career-limiting.
Terrific article Jordan and Chaitali!
I especially liked the part about friction - as a manager/director, reducing friction for our teams is also a great way to choose hands-on tasks.
During a retro a few months ago, engineers raised again how difficult it is to clone objects from the production to QA buckets, based on specific requirements. There was some Jenkins job, but it copied tons of not needed shit and took hours each time.
This is a task that involves multiple teams - the QA, DevOps, and another engineering team. I could have asked someone to do it, but I felt it’s a good choice of a task for myself, to feel the process. Took me a couple of weeks, I learned a lot, and made the life of my team (and the whole R&D) a bit easier.
That's a great example of friction and how to reduce it!
These are great metaphors for the macros and micros ingredients of one's career.
I've noted these examples to use in the future.
Thanks for the lessons, Chaitali!
Thanks Michal! Glad you found the lessons useful.
Amazing post, Jordan! Chaitali’s journey is truly inspiring—her balance of glue, grit, and friction is a powerful roadmap for career growth. I love how she turned challenges into promotable opportunities while staying sustainable. These are invaluable lessons for anyone aiming to scale quickly in their career. 👏 Thank you for sharing this!
Really appreciate that. So glad you enjoyed, and be sure to subscribe to Chaitali!
A great article !
Thank you, Milan!
The overindexing on glue tasks reminds me of the “snacks vs meals” insight you’ve talked about before, Jordan.
Glue work and quick wins are a great part of your daily work and promotion pack, but if that’s all you do, you won’t be promoted.
You need long term, challenging, big impact projects to hit those senior+ level promotions.
Great insights here. Thanks for sharing Chaitali and Jordan 🙌🏻
First, the article brings really good insights and concepts from a real experience, that is not seen so often. Thank you both for writing it.
I found the Glue work part a bit confusing, especially in the beginning. It says that you are doing a lot of mentoring, reviewing designs and talking to partner teams, then says that Glue work is the "less-glamorous tasks", and then says you are doing too much Glue work.
The key point seems to be how we define "less-glamorous tasks." I think most software engineers would consider design and coding less glamorous compared to mentoring and reviewing designs.
Perhaps the difference is in what an individual considers "glamorous" or "fulfilling" vs what companies consider "rewardable". In most big tech companies, design and coding work are rewarded more at the junior levels while mentoring, reviewing designs and talking to partner teams are rewarded more at senior levels. There is also an expectation of balance at all levels so too much of either is career-limiting.
This is an amazing post! Thank you, Chaitali!
Thank you, Konstantin! Appreciate that 🙏
Liked the idea of monthly recap. Great article. Thanks
Thank you, Shreyas! Glad you enjoyed
Incredible article, gold
Thank you so much, Daniel!
Friction in government roles is so high the whole building could set on fire