It's almost never the work. Great engineers get passed over for promotion because they're all results and no reputation.
Steal 200 ways to get known for the work you're already doing → https://toolkit.oasisofcourage.com/reach
Built on a whiteboard. Watch it → https://youtu.be/pqVQgAwoz1k
Your work does not speak for itself. It never has, and it never will.
Reputation = Results × Reach. Results are the impact you create. Reach is the number of people who can explain your value when you're not in the room.
It multiplies, which is what makes it brutal. Nine parts results and one part reach gives you nine. Five and five gives you twenty-five. And world-class results times no reach still equals nothing.
Curtis was a senior software engineer at NASA Ames, already performing at a high level and afraid of another PIP. He didn't get better at his job. He got better at giving his managers clear information about what he was contributing. Best review of his career, new machine learning work, an award for a proposal. The results were already there.
In this episode: why my work speaks for itself is the most expensive belief in engineering, the equation and why it multiplies instead of adds, more vs better vs different, what reach actually means, which handful of people matter more than everyone else combined, and how to talk about your contribution without it feeling like self-promotion.
You built the results. Now go build the reach.
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Ready to build the whole plan → https://calendly.com/oaco-client-success-team/career-clarity-call
Zach White is the founder of Oasis of Courage. Engineering degrees from Purdue and Michigan, former engineering leader at Whirlpool, 300+ engineering leaders coached since 2019. You shouldn't have to sacrifice your life to reach your potential at work.
Also in Season 2: How Engineering Managers Get Promoted Without Bragging · How to Get Promoted from Engineering Manager to Director
