I've seen it time and again - talented tech leaders slowly sabotaging their own career growth without even realizing it. The culprit? Failing to prioritize effectively. 💀

In my experience, poor prioritization is one of the biggest unspoken limiting factors holding back so many promising tech careers. It masquerades as "just being heads-down" or "staying technically focused." But over time, it cripples one's impact, perception, and advancement opportunities.
I've personally witnessed colleagues stuck in an infinite loop of just working on whatever task or support issue landed in their lap next. They'd jump from one undergrowth ticket to the next low-priority bug without ever prioritizing completion of higher-leverage projects or initiatives. While furiously pedaling, they made little forward progress.
The harsh reality is that stakeholders and leadership often can't distinguish whether you're truly staying productive on critical work or just bulling through a never ending list of lesser busywork. The perception becomes that you're laser-focused on overly technical nitty-gritty minutiae at the expense of business/strategic impact. It's a career-limiter as you become seen as too "in-the-weeds".
I've also seen the consequences of when a technologist drops the ball on prioritizing their own professional development. They get so engrossed in the tactical workload that they neglect devoting any cycles to upskilling, networking, or career road-mapping. Years go by in a flat trajectory while peers prioritize growth.
Clearly, prioritization matters immensely in not just day-to-day responsibilities, but macroscopic career impact. It's the silent killer stunting advancement for so many talented technologists.
So what's the antidote to avoiding this limiting factor? Develop prioritization rigor by embracing techniques like:
Assiduously prioritizing your workload through methods like scoring models (see my post yesterday)
Regularly evaluating and re-calibrating your priority alignment - focus on high impact, high value!
Most critically, consciously prioritizing professional development priorities among daily tasks
It takes discipline and commitment, but developing strong prioritization skills is a career-accelerating superpower. Don't let poor prioritization silently impede your impact and advancement.
I'd love to hear others' experiences with how prioritization challenges have surfaced in their own careers or workplace. This is a critical skillset so let's discuss!
📞 Reach out if you need a coach who can help unblock you and help you work on these gaps.. don't be limited by this, I'll give you the tools to propel your career forward.
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