Nate Mielnik
Nov 3 · 2 min read

Excellent, inspiring work Matt Russell ! I’ve had to self-learn a lot of these things through trial and error very slowly in my career, so reading something like this is incredibly valuable for helping everyone grow and be more effective quickly! I’m at a similar spot in my career as when you wrote this, and you’ve give me great ways to convey some of these thoughts in a relatable way, plus great visuals!

2 things I’m curious if you feel fit under your pillars or if they might be additional pillars:

  1. Cheerleading & giving credit to others. Even if things were your idea, and you helped someone else get there, give them all the credit, because they deserve it! If they choose to recognize you later for it, that’s a nice bonus…never expect it though. Making sure to never take ownership over other people’s success is huge for building trust and confidence in people who will help you accomplish even more in the future.
  2. Space & patience. Influence takes time to grow, and people need space to figure things out themselves. If you push too much, people will feel you have an agenda and not feel the ownership and autonomy that’s critical for motivation. Much like planting seeds, if you fuss over any one of them too much, it won’t turn out the way you want…but if you plant lots of seeds and be patient, even if not all of them grow, you’ll start to see something collectively take root.

Thanks again for this great story, and let us know if you’ve added on any new perspectives over the past year or 2!

Nate Mielnik

Written by

Coder turned manager try to disrupt previous notions of leadership, growth, and effectiveness within the workplace…with a little hip-hop on the side

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