20 Comments

My boss called this, “Being a force multiplier”. If the whole team produces more when you are on it you are a force multiplier. Great post!

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Thanks John! "Being a force multiplier" is great way to put it

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Superb article. I think giving tech talks to your team/org is underrated. There have been cases where I refer to a tech talk months after it was given because it became relevant to me later on, which is a huge win for the maker of the talk.

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Thanks Leo! Agreed, the slides themselves often become a helpful resource

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I am actually going to share importance of tech talks in few days, you will love it.

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Documenting processes and explanation of data systems on tools such as 'Confluence' have been useful for me at work. It reinforces my knowledge and helps me articulate complex systems to other stakeholders...

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Fantastic insights, Ryan! The concept of 'scaling yourself' is such a critical mindset shift for engineers aiming to grow into Staff and beyond.

I particularly loved the framing around multiplying impact through others—it’s not just about individual contributions but about building an ecosystem where impactful work happens because of your influence and enablement.

The practical tips on knowledge sharing and tooling are spot on. In my own journey, I’ve seen how even small efforts, like writing a reusable script or documenting a process, can ripple across a team and amplify productivity.

One thought I’d add: scaling yourself also means creating space for others to step up and shine. By trusting others and delegating, you’re not only scaling your impact but also fostering their growth—a win-win for the team and the individual.

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Great article!

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My ex-boss used to tell me that my individual performance was less important than the collective performance of the team

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Agreed with your ex-boss; this is true for more senior engineers

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Thank you for another thought-provoking newsletter, Ryan! The concept of scaling oneself is crucial, and your practical strategies, especially on knowledge sharing and building tooling, are gems for engineers at all levels. Looking forward to more insightful content!

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Happy to, thanks!

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Scaling yourself is the only way you can grow yourself (and others). The only sustainable strategy. I have written something similar here - https://open.substack.com/pub/buildtechcareer/p/how-helping-others-skyrockets-your?r=6lkk8&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

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You are absolutely right

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There are some great tips in here, thank you!

Just recently I started recording the onboarding presentations that I'm doing, so that they can be used later on to speed up the process. Next to that, since i'm transitioning into a mid-level / senior role, i'm also trying to spend more time documenting thought processes and design decisions to help the learning of our junior members

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> started recording the onboarding presentations that I'm doing, so that they can be used later on to speed up the process

This is great, sounds like a good resource that can be reused many times. Thanks for reading!

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Excellent tips Ryan, especially about building tooling and improving the docs, those can essentially "replace" you and serve others when you're not present. Although, working in small startups all my life, never anyone told me "scale yourself" but "we should clone you". 😃

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That resonates; "cloning yourself" is a great way to have more impact

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Do you think that platform teams often have better chances with third option because thats their day to day job.

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I think so; It depends on the specific situation but I've seen plenty of examples of infra/platform engineers that have massive impact that way. They have a lot of leverage since they help many engineers move faster.

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