🏁 2. Document your long-term plans

In the same vein as training others, to switch roles you’ll need to replace yourself. Identify who that replacement might be and actively and continuously coach them.

• “Making yourself replaceable”
• “Deprecating yourself”
• "Automating yourself out of your job”

In short, being disposable to free yourself to grow into a higher-level role and make it easier to change the projects you work on. Confused still? Here are...

The goal is for them to be independent (what is usually considered “seniority” in a typical engineering ladder). Familiarize them with the plans and technologies and make sure they know how to use the documentation.

Once you have given power to others, included them in groups and meetings, and documented your knowledge, they’ll be ready to take work from you. Delegate work that can make them grow and focus on the things only you can do.

Trust them to do the right thing. If you are in a leadership position, don’t make it so people come to you asking for permission. Let them make their own choices. Guide them so that their choices are based on the right data.

Take the chance to grow your knowledge in any area you are interested in, and keep it fun. Bonus points if that area aligns with the future path you want to take.

Keep (public, within the team) notes for all meetings you attend, listing who was there, what was discussed, and any conclusions. Reference those notes from design documents. Your replacement will need these to catch up.

If not a 1-on-1 and you are the only person from your team attending a meeting, involve someone else. Different perspectives are useful, but more importantly, you are avoiding becoming the only point of contact.

Every time someone asks you a question, they are highlighting a gap in the documentation. Take the chance to write the answer down (in a document, sheet, note, code, comment, etc.) so that the next person doesn’t need YOU.

A good philosophy to live by at work is to “always be quitting”. No, don’t be constantly thinking of leaving your job 😱. But act as if you might leave on short notice 😎.

Counterintuitively, this will make you better at what you do and open up growth opportunities.