Sometimes Your Job Is to Stay the Hell Out of the Way
9 days ago
- #leadership
- #engineering culture
- #10x engineer
- The Wolf represents a real 10x engineer, not a myth, existing in various companies and industries.
- Wolves don't seek the label; they naturally excel by focusing on essential projects.
- Creating a Wolf-friendly culture involves fostering an engineering-conducive environment without explicitly discussing 10x engineers.
- Attempts to institutionalize the Wolf role failed, either distracting Wolves or creating imposters.
- A true Wolf, Richard, self-initiated a critical project, demonstrating the importance of autonomy and intrinsic motivation.
- Management's role with Wolves is often to stay out of the way, allowing their work to speak for itself.
- Process can unintentionally stifle innovation; recognizing when to step back is crucial for leadership.
- Beware of 'brilliant jerks'—productive but toxic engineers—who misuse the Wolf concept to justify poor behavior.