Career guide
Ten practical ways to make your work visible, build a strong foundation and keep your next move within reach.
- 01 Ten important career practices
- 02 A concrete action for every practice
- 03 A template for manager updates and reviews
Get the career guide.
Keep it next to your project notes. Use it before a manager conversation, after a milestone or when you are considering what to do next.
Download the career guidePDF · Free
Open the PDF in a new tabStart with the gap you can act on.
If your work is hard to see, use the template below to explain one project’s goal, your contribution and the result in a manager update or performance review. If your options feel narrow, look at employers in your industry where your existing knowledge could help you move into a new role.
See the ten practices
Make your work visible
I spend about 10–20% of my time sharing my work and results. Use team forums, presentations and leadership updates so people beyond your manager understand your contribution and reputation.
Have somewhere to pivot
I keep projects in different areas so I can pivot without starting over. Check whether your alternatives depend on the same budget, sponsor or priority. If one changes, what else could you move forward?
Build a strong foundation
I invest heavily upfront in research, historical context, technical understanding and best practices. Learn why past decisions were made. That foundation compounds into expertise you can apply to the next problem.
Align on expectations often
When priorities shift, ask: “What does excellent look like now, and what should I stop doing?” Confirm the outcome, how it will be judged and who needs to agree. Revisit the agreement as the work changes.
Make your impact easy to explain
Give people a story they can repeat when you are not in the room. Capture the starting point, your key decision and what changed. Name your contribution and your collaborators. Collect evidence as you go, before the details disappear.
See past the lines of your role
Your job description should not limit what you learn or contribute. If an important problem needs skills outside your role, develop them. Collaborate with the people who own that function, respect their expertise and agree how you can help. Let the problem expand your skills.
Prioritize what your leaders care about
Work can be useful without being a priority. Find out which outcomes your leaders are accountable for and choose projects that move those forward. Make sure the type of work you take on is valued, too. Agree what to stop or hand off when priorities change.
Have strong opinions, but hold them loosely
Take a clear position and explain why. Say what evidence would change your mind, then actively look for it. When you learn something new, update your view openly. Stand behind your reasoning while staying willing to revise your conclusion.
Use AI for everything you do
Make AI your default partner for research, planning, writing, analysis and execution. As work shifts toward AI, build fluency by using it on real problems. Keep testing how it can improve your work, while checking the output and owning the result.
Look for roles where you have a head start
Explore jobs with your employer’s customers, suppliers or competitors. Your industry knowledge can be useful in a different role. For example, a retail manager could explore customer success at a retail software company. Find one role where what you already know would help.
Explain your impact in a manager update
Fill in the brackets after a milestone. Use this in a manager update or performance review.
The goal was [goal]. I [your contribution], with [collaborators]. This led to [result or evidence]. Next, I recommend [next step].
Research and further reading
The guide brings together my experience, career research and useful ideas from practitioner discussions. Community votes show what resonated with readers; they do not establish that advice works for everyone.
- Ronald Burt: Structural Holes and Good Ideas. Research connecting cross-group networks with access to different perspectives and valuable ideas. Background for the guide's emphasis on collaborating across roles.
- Gallup: resetting expectations and priorities. Guidance on agreeing what success looks like as work changes.
- Carnegie Mellon: work that helps the organization but does not advance your career. Research on how these tasks are allocated and the importance of discussing priorities and recognition.
- VanEpps, Hart and Schweitzer: dual-promotion. Experiments on explaining your own contribution while crediting other people.
- r/careerguidance: career advice that helped in practice. The discussion about moving within an industry's customers, suppliers and competitors informed practice ten.
- r/ExperiencedDevs: what actually mattered in promotion decisions. Practitioners discuss visibility before review time and evidence others can understand.
- Robert Sutton: strong opinions, weakly held. An explanation of the principle associated with Paul Saffo, combining a clear position with a willingness to test and revise it. Leanna selected this principle for practice eight.
- r/ExperiencedDevs: Being Glue. Different workplaces reward coordination work differently. This supports checking how the type of work you take on is valued.
- Microsoft: 2025 Work Trend Index. Workplace research on AI and agent adoption. This provides context for Leanna's advice to build AI fluency through everyday use.