Act Like A Senior Engineer (Part Two)
Part two of my series - Communicating Clearly
Welcome to Path to Staff Engineering! I’m Sidwyn, and I will teach you the skills to level up to the Staff level faster. If it's your first time here, subscribe to continue receiving this free content.
Throughout my career, I've noticed that people who rise quickly to Senior Engineer and beyond share one key trait: they communicate clearly.
Whether speaking or writing, their ability to cut through information overload is what sets them apart.
If I had to break down Communication into three essential techniques, they would be:
Be Concise: What's the fewest number of words I need to convey my message? Am I choosing the right words?
Consider the Audience: Who am I speaking to? What are they looking for? Why should they listen to me?
Active Listening: Am I fully hearing what others are saying? How can I make them feel understood? Are we aligned on our goals?
Of course, no one is born with all these techniques fully mastered. Here's my tips on how you can start:
Improve one technique at a time. Just like you wouldn't try to learn every swimming stroke at once, start with one. I'd recommend beginning with active listening. Actively listening to others will help you form your viewpoints, and also make them feel heard.
Learn from the best. Find and study those whom you admire at work. Take notes about their communication styles when you meet with them. Save pieces of their writing that you enjoyed reading. Let them know that you appreciate their communication skills – they might even end up sharing their tips with you!
Practice and seek feedback. Communication is a skill that needs constant refinement. Start a blog to improve your writing skills. Give talks to your team or company. Practice with people you trust, and actively seek their honest feedback—embrace it as part of your growth.
Mastering these three dimensions of communication has significantly improved how I interact with others. And of course, I'm a work in progress. But I make sure to spend time reflecting and constantly learning.
Here are my favorite resources that have helped me master communication:
Books / articles:
On Writing Well by William Zinsser
Writing Better by Julian Shapiro
Writing for Engineers by Heinrich Hartmann
Watching others present:
Power of Vulnerability by Brené Brown
Start with Why by Simon Sinek
How to speak so that people want to listenby Julian Treasure
I cover more tips on Communication as well in my first post Weak Soft Skills: Why you are stuck at the Senior engineer level.
Thanks for reading. I hope this helps you in your journey to grow as a software engineer. These are shared from a decade-long journey working as a software engineer in startups and Big Tech.
Have thoughts or feedback? Comment or reach out to me here or on LinkedIn.