This conversation with Zanina Katira on "Beyond Coding" reveals a critical truth: your career growth is not a spectator sport, and waiting for external validation or a promotion is a recipe for stagnation. The most significant hidden consequence of this passive approach is the erosion of agency, leading to a gradual disengagement and a missed opportunity to shape a truly fulfilling professional trajectory. This episode is essential for any individual contributor, engineer, or professional who feels stuck, overlooked, or simply wants to proactively architect their success. Understanding these dynamics provides a powerful advantage by equipping you with the mindset and tools to navigate organizational complexities and build a career that aligns with your ambitions, rather than one dictated by circumstance.

Own Your Engineering Career: Why Waiting for Permission Guarantees Stagnation

In the pursuit of professional advancement, many individuals, particularly in technical fields, fall into a common trap: they wait. They wait for their manager to notice their contributions, for a promotion to be offered, or for the company to present a clear, pre-defined growth path. This conversation on "Beyond Coding" with talent expert Zanina Katira dismantles this passive approach, arguing that such waiting is not only ineffective but actively detrimental to long-term career success. The obvious answer--to work hard and hope for recognition--is insufficient because it ignores the deeper systemic dynamics at play. What others systematically miss is that true career ownership requires proactive engagement, strategic self-advocacy, and a profound understanding of how individual contributions connect to broader business outcomes. This episode peels back the layers, revealing that the most significant competitive advantages are often forged not by following the prescribed path, but by understanding and influencing the system itself.

The Hidden Cost of Waiting: Why Passive Growth Leads to Mediocrity

The prevailing narrative in many organizations is that hard skills--the technical proficiency, the coding prowess, the deep domain knowledge--are the primary currency for career progression. While these skills are undeniably crucial for getting a foot in the door, Zanina Katira argues forcefully that they are merely the entry ticket, not the roadmap to thriving. The true differentiator, the engine of sustained growth and impact, lies in the "how"--the soft skills, the ability to collaborate, communicate, and influence.

This distinction is often lost on individuals and organizations alike. The immediate, tangible output of coding or debugging is easily measured. It feels productive, it solves immediate problems, and it aligns with traditional performance metrics. However, this focus on the "what" without equal emphasis on the "how" creates a cascade of hidden consequences.

The Paradox of Technical Depth Without Visibility

Consider the highly skilled engineer who consistently delivers exceptional code, meticulously solves complex technical challenges, and operates with a high degree of autonomy. From a purely technical standpoint, this individual is invaluable. Yet, if their contributions remain confined to their immediate task, their impact is effectively siloed. As Zanina highlights, "Hard skills get you in the room, but what will actually make you thrive is how you collaborated with others."

The downstream effect of this is a gradual disconnect between technical contribution and organizational recognition. Managers, often overloaded and focused on team-level deliverables, may not fully grasp the nuances of an individual's impact if it's not articulated. This can lead to a situation where, as Zanina observes, "if individual contributors people with really good technical depth don't move up an organizational ladder, then mediocrity will move up." This isn't a malicious outcome; it's a systemic one. When opportunities for growth--whether through promotions, new responsibilities, or leadership roles--are not actively pursued or created by those with deep technical expertise, those who are adept at navigating organizational politics or who are simply more vocal tend to ascend. The result is a slow erosion of technical leadership at higher levels, potentially stifling innovation and leading to a culture where impactful contributions go unrecognized.

The Illusion of the Managerial Ladder

A common expectation is that career progression in technical fields inevitably leads to management. For many engineers, the traditional path involves moving from junior to senior engineer, and then to engineering manager. However, this assumption overlooks a critical reality: not all highly technical individuals are suited for, or desire, people management. Forcing individuals into roles that do not align with their strengths or interests creates a double bind. The individual may struggle, leading to decreased job satisfaction and performance, while the organization loses a potentially exceptional individual contributor.

Zanina points out this organizational failing: "companies they should understand that they have to offer multiple options either an ic track an individual contributor track where you can become more senior and you can contribute in a different way." When organizations fail to provide robust individual contributor (IC) tracks--paths that allow for increasing technical leadership, influence, and compensation without direct reports--they inadvertently create a bottleneck. This lack of alternative growth avenues means that talented engineers who don't wish to manage are often left with limited options. They may stagnate in their current roles, become disengaged, or, as Zanina notes, "the senior engineer at some point he outgrows his role but the role stays static and then the engineer leaves." The subsequent lament about a "competitive market" often masks a failure in internal career pathing and workforce planning.

The Storytelling Deficit: Connecting Code to Business Value

A profound disconnect exists between the technical work performed and its perceived business value. Many engineers, deeply immersed in the intricacies of their code, struggle to articulate how their efforts contribute to the company's bottom line, revenue growth, or strategic objectives. This is where the art of storytelling becomes paramount.

Zanina emphasizes the need to translate technical achievements into business impact: "you need to create some stories that they can start from your cv--it's not that I know these languages and these frameworks--but what did you actually do? Like I did documentation that halved the ramp time of newcomers for example or I reduced risk by that percent." Without this narrative, the tangible results of hard work remain abstract. An engineer might successfully optimize a database query, saving milliseconds of processing time. While technically impressive, its business impact is unclear unless framed. Did this optimization lead to a better customer experience? Did it enable a new feature that drives revenue? Did it reduce operational costs?

The consequence of failing to bridge this gap is that impactful work, even when executed flawlessly, may not be recognized as such. This can lead to a sense of frustration for the individual and a missed opportunity for the organization to understand and leverage its talent effectively. The "imposter syndrome" can even creep in, as individuals feel they are not truly "earning" their position if they cannot articulate their value beyond the technical. This is particularly true when comparing oneself to colleagues who may be more adept at self-promotion, even if their technical depth is less.

The Power of Proactivity: Shaping Your Career Through Ownership

The core message from Zanina is one of radical ownership. Your career is not a passive journey dictated by external forces; it is an active construction project that you must lead. This requires a shift in mindset from "waiting for a promotion" to "creating opportunities for growth."

Embracing Adaptability and Resilience in a Shifting Landscape

The technological landscape is in constant flux, with AI and new paradigms emerging at an unprecedented pace. Zanina identifies adaptability and resilience as critical soft skills for navigating this environment. "Our world shifts so fast nowadays with with AI and you need to be adaptable you need to be resilient," she states. The consequence of failing to cultivate these traits is becoming obsolete. Technology, companies, and even colleagues will evolve, and those who cannot adapt risk being left behind.

But how does one demonstrate these qualities tangibly? Zanina suggests proactivity: "by being proactive identifying the problem before the problem shows and also suggest the solution while others are trying still to identify what the problem is." This isn't just about solving problems; it's about anticipating them and bringing forward tested solutions or experiments. This demonstrates not only foresight but also a willingness to learn, take calculated risks, and invest time in exploring new possibilities. This proactive stance creates a positive feedback loop: initiative leads to visibility, which can lead to more impactful projects and further opportunities for growth.

The RACI Framework: Clarifying Ownership and Driving Decisions

In complex organizational environments, ambiguity around decision-making and ownership can lead to inertia and missed opportunities. Zanina champions the RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) framework as a tool to bring clarity and drive progress. "Unless someone takes responsibility, unless you have one person to give you the green light or to say no this is not possible to be done, you have you end up having a bunch of contributors that nobody is taking the lead," she explains.

Applying RACI, even informally, forces clarity on who makes the final call (Accountable) and who executes the work (Responsible). This prevents situations where projects stall because no one has the authority to decide, or where valuable contributions are made by individuals who are not part of the core decision-making loop. For an individual contributor, understanding and even advocating for the use of RACI can be a powerful way to increase their visibility and influence. By clarifying who is accountable for what, individuals can better understand how their work contributes to the larger picture and ensure their efforts are aligned with strategic priorities. This also helps in identifying gaps where the organization might be lacking clear ownership, presenting an opportunity for proactive engagement.

Beyond Titles: Valuing Scope and Impactful Projects

The emphasis on job titles as markers of progression is a flawed metric, according to Zanina. Titles can be inconsistent across organizations and may not reflect the true scope or impact of one's work. Instead, she advises valuing "scope of work and again I'm not talking about more workload... I'm talking about more scope and more impactful projects."

This perspective encourages individuals to seek out opportunities that expand their influence, deepen their expertise, and contribute to significant business outcomes, regardless of the associated title. When managers fail to provide clear growth paths or when titles remain static, individuals should proactively seek to redefine their scope. This might involve pitching new projects, volunteering for cross-functional initiatives, or identifying areas where their skills can address unmet business needs. The willingness to take on more challenging and impactful work, even without an immediate title change, builds a track record of achievement that is far more valuable in the long run. This is where immediate discomfort--taking on a project with uncertain outcomes or requiring new skills--can lead to lasting advantage, as it demonstrates initiative and capability that others may not possess.

The Art of Asking for and Receiving Feedback

A crucial, yet often overlooked, aspect of career ownership is the ability to solicit and effectively utilize feedback. Zanina shares her own journey of learning to ask for feedback, highlighting that it's a skill that needs to be developed. "I had to learn how to ask for feedback," she admits, noting that in some cultures, direct questioning is not encouraged.

The fear of negative feedback--of confirming what one already suspects they are not good at--is a significant barrier. However, Zanina frames asking for feedback not as a sign of weakness, but as a proactive step towards growth. She differentiates between advice, which tells you what to do, and feedback, which describes observed behaviors and their impact. "I want feedback, I don't just want to know what you would advise me to do, I want to know what I did what you observed and how it made you feel or how you saw it had impact on others," she clarifies. By asking specific questions about how one's actions facilitated or blocked progress, individuals can gain actionable insights that are far more valuable than generic advice. This deliberate pursuit of feedback, especially from managers, peers, and even stakeholders, can illuminate blind spots and accelerate development in areas that truly matter for career advancement.

Key Action Items for Career Ownership

• Articulate Your Impact (Ongoing): Regularly translate your technical achievements into tangible business outcomes. Document your contributions with metrics, focusing on how your work impacts cost, revenue, risk mitigation, or customer experience. This is not just for performance reviews; make it a habit for yourself.
• Develop Your "How" (Next 3-6 Months): Actively identify and work on developing key soft skills such as communication, collaboration, negotiation, and storytelling. Seek training, mentorship, or opportunities to practice these skills in your current role.
• Understand the Business Context (Next Quarter): Make a conscious effort to learn how your team's work contributes to the company's overall strategic goals. Ask questions about business metrics, revenue streams, and customer impact. If your organization lacks clear paths for this, seek out colleagues in product, sales, or marketing to gain perspective.
• Proactively Seek Feedback (Immediately): Don't wait for formal reviews. Schedule regular, brief feedback sessions with your manager and trusted colleagues. Come prepared with specific questions about your performance and areas for growth, focusing on observed behaviors and their impact.
• Explore Multiple Growth Paths (Next 6-12 Months): Understand the career paths available within your organization. Advocate for robust individual contributor (IC) tracks if they are lacking. If your current organization doesn't offer the growth you seek, begin exploring companies that do prioritize diverse career progression.
• Embrace "Difficult" Projects (This Quarter): Volunteer for projects that push you outside your comfort zone, require new skills, or have a high degree of ambiguity. These are often the projects that offer the greatest learning opportunities and visibility, creating a competitive advantage through earned experience.
• Visualize Your Ambition (Next Month): Dedicate time to self-reflection. What does success look like for you? What kind of work is fulfilling? What impact do you want to make? Documenting these aspirations, even if imperfectly, provides a compass for your career journey and helps in communicating your goals to others.