Staff is leadership, or it is a raise

2026-04-09 · 6 minute read

Companies that only know how to reward management will keep ruining great engineers. A staff path that is 'senior but louder' is not a path. Scope, technical direction, and the ability to move the org without a solid line — that is leadership.

If you are on that path, you still need ELBTG. You elevate, you learn the business, you build influence, you transform from hero to multiplier, and you grow other people — often peers. The absence of a hiring stack does not excuse the absence of a practice.

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