You donโt need a roadmap full of features.
You need a culture that lets teams think.
This issue is for anyone whoโs tired of chasing tickets ๐๐ผ
newsletter.optimistengineer.com/p/are-you-st...
#softwareengineering #leadership
The real meaning of Agile
High-agency engineers multiply their impact by investing in social capital. โ Rafa Pรกez
How high-agency engineers turn trust, credibility, and relationships into visible impact ๐ newsletter.rafapaez.com/p/social-cap...
The magic of combining High Agency with High Social Capital
Most engineers ignore the one thing that makes impact scale: Social capital
Itโs not favoritism.
Itโs trust, credibility, and relationships.
Today's newsletter:
๐น 3 core pillars
๐น Why high agency isnโt enough
๐น 2 simple visuals
Whatโs 1 thing you do to build social capital?
2,000 subscribers on The Engineer Leader! ๐
I thought only my mom would read. Now it's 2k engineers and leaders reading it every week.
Huge thanks for every read, like, share.
Not onboard? Subscribe in 2 seconds (link in my bio)
Becoming a better engineer isnโt just about code.
Itโs about making decisions, leading under pressure, and growing beyond your title.
Hereโs where you start ๐๐ผ
newsletter.optimistengineer.com/p/find-what-...
#softwareengineering #leadership
Have you ever seen someone get promoted while someone else, more technically skilled and harder working, stays stuck?
The first learned to decode the system.
Every company runs on two playbooks:
1. The official one: what they tell you.
2. The real one: what actually works.
Spot on!
โIf a tree falls in the forest and nobody tweets it, did it really fall?โ
If your work isnโt seen, it doesnโt count.
Visibility โ vanity. Itโs strategy.
More on this in tomorrowโs issue of my newsletter.
Donโt miss it (link in bio).
#EngineeringLeadership #CareerGrowth
I agree! Thanks for sharing.
Change my mind: Software engineering interviews are harder than the job itself.
I'm definitely spending less time but on those social networks where receiving less engagement. It's the case here. Thanks for your insights.
This made my day:
Okay, seems BlueSky is dying or is just me?
There are 2 kinds of Engineering Managers:
The Driver: leads from the front, solves the hardest problems.
The Enabler: sets direction, coaches, delegates, empowers.
Both can work.
Both can fail.
Which one gets the best out of you?
Never promise a promotion, unless you're the CEO.
You can coach, advocate, support.
But you donโt control the final say.
Promise growth, not guarantees.
Exceptions can be made, but not for you.
Break trust once, and your word is worthless.
Ever seen this go wrong?
No Thanks: My 7 Non-Negotiables for a Fair Interview Process
How I protect my time, dignity, and career by setting boundaries against broken hiring practices.
newsletter.rafapaez.com/p/no-thanks-...
No Thanks: My 7 Non-Negotiables for a Fair Interview Process
No LeetCode.
No endless take-homes.
No 8-round interview marathons.
These are just 3 of my 7 non-negotiables for a fair interview process.
Full list in my latest newsletter.
What are your own non-negotiables when you're on the candidate side?
Iโm debating whether to publish tomorrowโs article.
Some recruiters, hiring managers, and HR folks might not like it. But the truth is: this is something that needs to be said
I believe it's time we raise the bar. Should I hit publish?
๐ Donโt miss it: newsletter.rafapaez.com
Is it just me, or is the tech market starting to bounce back?
In the past few days, several people in my network have landed new roles.
Opportunities are popping up again. Momentum is shifting.
Buckle up, looks like weโre heading back up. ๐
"Better waves make better surfers. Are you on the right beach?"
Friday reflections.
Networking has two modes:
TCP โ Real connection. Handshake. Deep conversations. Mutual value.
UDP โ โHappy Friday!โ, check my site, and some random memes. No context. No follow-up. Just broadcasting.
Both have their place.
But if you want real growth?
Be more TCP.
What's your favourite book about software engineering, leadership or personal development?
But books only reach their full power when we do something with the ideas inside them. I share how each pick influenced me, and how you can turn insights into action.
๐ Give it a read here: newsletter.rafapaez.com/p/the-books-...
๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ: 46 ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐งโ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ๐บ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ฑ & ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด๐ฆ๐ต.
Every title on this list nudged my thinking, sharpened my leadership, or helped me see the world a shade clearer.
๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ? ๐
AI-first is smart. Mandate-first? Not so much.
You canโt KPI your way into innovation.
Trust your team. Give them tools, not checklists.
Adoption follows value, not pressure.
Let AI be a spark, not a script.
May has started strong for ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฏ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ newsletter. ๐
This Sunday, Iโm dropping a bold, controversial take that ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ.
Not on the list yet?
๐ฅ Subscribe now and donโt miss it (check my bio)
I just learned about ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ฝ.
AI can make you more creativeโor less.
๐ Underperformers treat AI like a tool.
๐ Top performers treat AI like a teammate.
That one mindset shift? It changes everything.
Please answer