You don’t need a roadmap full of features. You need a culture that lets teams think. This issue is for anyone who’s tired of chasing tickets 👇🏼 newsletter.optimistengineer.com/p/are-you-st... #softwareengineering #leadership

The real meaning of Agile

High-agency engineers multiply their impact by investing in social capital. — Rafa Páez

Most engineers ignore the one thing that makes impact scale: Social capital It’s not favoritism. It’s trust, credibility, and relationships. Today's newsletter: 🔹 3 core pillars 🔹 Why high agency isn’t enough 🔹 2 simple visuals What’s 1 thing you do to build social capital?

2,000 subscribers on The Engineer Leader! 🎉 I thought only my mom would read. Now it's 2k engineers and leaders reading it every week. Huge thanks for every read, like, share. Not onboard? Subscribe in 2 seconds (link in my bio)

Becoming a better engineer isn’t just about code. It’s about making decisions, leading under pressure, and growing beyond your title. Here’s where you start 👇🏼 newsletter.optimistengineer.com/p/find-what-... #softwareengineering #leadership

Have you ever seen someone get promoted while someone else, more technically skilled and harder working, stays stuck? The first learned to decode the system. Every company runs on two playbooks: 1. The official one: what they tell you. 2. The real one: what actually works.

“If a tree falls in the forest and nobody tweets it, did it really fall?” If your work isn’t seen, it doesn’t count. Visibility ≠ vanity. It’s strategy. More on this in tomorrow’s issue of my newsletter. Don’t miss it (link in bio). #EngineeringLeadership #CareerGrowth

Change my mind: Software engineering interviews are harder than the job itself.

This made my day:

Okay, seems BlueSky is dying or is just me?

There are 2 kinds of Engineering Managers: The Driver: leads from the front, solves the hardest problems. The Enabler: sets direction, coaches, delegates, empowers. Both can work. Both can fail. Which one gets the best out of you?

Never promise a promotion, unless you're the CEO. You can coach, advocate, support. But you don’t control the final say. Promise growth, not guarantees. Exceptions can be made, but not for you. Break trust once, and your word is worthless. Ever seen this go wrong?

No LeetCode. No endless take-homes. No 8-round interview marathons. These are just 3 of my 7 non-negotiables for a fair interview process. Full list in my latest newsletter. What are your own non-negotiables when you're on the candidate side?

I’m debating whether to publish tomorrow’s article. Some recruiters, hiring managers, and HR folks might not like it. But the truth is: this is something that needs to be said I believe it's time we raise the bar. Should I hit publish? 👉 Don’t miss it: newsletter.rafapaez.com

Is it just me, or is the tech market starting to bounce back? In the past few days, several people in my network have landed new roles. Opportunities are popping up again. Momentum is shifting. Buckle up, looks like we’re heading back up. 🚀

"Better waves make better surfers. Are you on the right beach?" Friday reflections.

Networking has two modes: TCP – Real connection. Handshake. Deep conversations. Mutual value. UDP – “Happy Friday!”, check my site, and some random memes. No context. No follow-up. Just broadcasting. Both have their place. But if you want real growth? Be more TCP.

What's your favourite book about software engineering, leadership or personal development?

📚 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝘆 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲: 46 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘧‑𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 & 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘦𝘵. Every title on this list nudged my thinking, sharpened my leadership, or helped me see the world a shade clearer. 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲? 👇

AI-first is smart. Mandate-first? Not so much. You can’t KPI your way into innovation. Trust your team. Give them tools, not checklists. Adoption follows value, not pressure. Let AI be a spark, not a script.

May has started strong for 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 newsletter. 🚀 This Sunday, I’m dropping a bold, controversial take that 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿. Not on the list yet? 📥 Subscribe now and don’t miss it (check my bio)

I just learned about 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗚𝗮𝗽. AI can make you more creative—or less. 👉 Underperformers treat AI like a tool. 🏆 Top performers treat AI like a teammate. That one mindset shift? It changes everything.

Please answer

The biggest unlock in my engineering career? Becoming product-minded. Not just building things right, building the right things. Think business impact. Ask why. Care about outcomes. It made me a better engineer, teammate, and leader. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳

The tech job market is tough, especially for early-career engineers. Want to thrive? Focus on: 🔹 Mastering fundamentals 🔹 Using AI wisely 🔹 Clear communication 🔹 Impact over code 🔹 Strong relationships 🔹 Playing the long game Adaptability + value = success. 🚀

2025 expectations: AI ruling humanity. 2025 reality: We can’t even keep the lights on in Portugal and Spain.

Junior engineers aren't cooked. Low agency ones are. open.substack.com/pub/rafapaez...

AI won’t take your job. Being passive will. Silent layoffs quietly phase out low-agency engineers—the ones who wait for instructions instead of shaping outcomes.

One of the greatest challenges of leadership is knowing which battles should fight. Pick the wrong one, and you could lose your job. Stay silent too often, and you might end up trapped in a job you hate. Leadership isn’t just about courage — it’s about judgment. Choose wisely.

People often ask me, "𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘦𝘤𝘩?" It’s tough out there, no doubt. But most think the answer is more technical prep. More studying. More LeetCode. The truth? 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘂𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺.

Some days are busy. And other days are “everyone-slacked-you-at-once-while-you-were-on-a-call-and-now-you-forgot-why-you-entered-this-meeting” busy. Also known as: Manager Hard Mode.

Hot take: excessive process isn't making your engineering team more reliable. It's making them slower. It's killing autonomy. - Ticket ceremony overload. - Approval gates for trivial changes. - Endless status updates. Here's my TL;DR: Values > Principles > Processes.

Some people need to understand this: “Just because you are doing a lot more doesn't mean you are getting a lot done. Don't confuse movement with progress!” ― Denzel Washington

Me after a weekend at an all-inclusive resort: The good: 20K steps a day 🏃 The bad: 10K calories a day 🥐 The ugly: +3kg in 3 days 👖 My watch cheered. My jeans cried.

Ever hit that zone where work flows, time vanishes, and everything just works? That’s flow, and it’s where your best work lives. In my latest post, I div into how to reach it, protect it, and lead teams that thrive in it. open.substack.com/pub/rafapaez...

The problem with modern work isn’t laziness. It’s interruption. It's fragmentation. Endless meetings. Pings. Context switches. Micro-demands on your attention. Some people aren't underperforming because they don’t care. They're underperforming because they never get the chance to go deep.

Want to earn trust in a new org? Don’t give speeches. Don’t over-promise. Just ship something. Small, useful, real. And do it fast. Early wins speak louder than introductions.

How to get lucky.

The 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 busiest day at work: your first day back from vacation. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗲𝘀𝘁: the day before you go on vacation. 🤷‍♂️ Just how the universe works, I guess. Is it just me, or is this everyone’s reality? 😅

When did we normalize putting engineers through 7 to 10 interviews for a job? If it takes that many rounds to make a decision, the problem isn't with the candidate. It's with your hiring process. Do better.

Clever engineers write code that looks smart. Great engineers write code that needs no explanation. Most problems don’t need brilliance, they need clarity. Simple code isn’t boring. It’s a gift to your team. Know when to impress. Know when to shut up and ship. Keep it simple!

Fascinating article, along the lines of the one I wrote today. One thing I forgot to cover is the fact some people just "love writing code" It's like hand-writing, for example. That feeling is irreplaceable by typing on a keyboard (even on a mechanical one) newsletter.rafapaez.com/p/the-end-of...

Is AI going to replace Software Engineers? Not exactly. But it is rapidly transforming what it means to be an engineer. In my latest newsletter issue, "𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 (𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀)", I explore how AI is reshaping our profession: newsletter.rafapaez.com/p/the-end-of...

If I have to tell my best engineers how to do the work, they’re not my best engineers. Great leadership is about trust, not control.

Working in the tech industry nowadays means that you have to keep running just to stay still.

Viral content isn’t always useful. Useful content isn’t always viral. Here’s the truth: you need both. Read that again. Then save it.

For all of you moving to Engineering Manager after the past performance review, this from @rafapaez.bsky.social is what you need to know 👇🏼 newsletter.optimistengineer.com/p/from-debug... #softwareengineering #leadership

Has anyone used Shape Up? Do you work with estimates or deadlines? Share your experience 👇

“Hey, can you give me a quick estimate for this project?” It sounds harmless. But hidden in that simple question, there is a can of worms just waiting to explode. If you’ve been around long enough in tech, you’ve probably lived some version of this drama. So how do we fix it?