Who knows what engineering VPs are thinking? I sure did not, until I became one. (Some say I still do not.) The real problem is a two-way information gap: your VP is starved for ground-truth, and you are missing the “why” behind their opaque decisions. This talk is a frank little conversation on how to build a partnership that closes that gap, so you can understand the strategy you need to do your job, and they can get the unfiltered perspective they have lost.
Ever seen an off-the-wall decision by the senior leadership cabal and wondered what they were thinking? It turns out it is rarely a secret plan, it is a structural information gap. Your VP is often starved for the ground-truth that you have, and you are missing the strategic “why” behind their decisions. They end up guessing about what is really happening on their teams, and you end up guessing about what work actually matters.
As a former VP who started at Slack as a Senior Staff IC, I have had the dubious pleasure of living on both sides of this gap. I have felt the IC’s frustration with confusing directives, and I know the executive’s pressure to make big calls with incomplete information. This talk is my attempt to translate the view from the VP chair. (For the record, I did not actually get a new physical chair.)
I will share a practical playbook for bridging this gap by trading your ground-truth for their context. We will cover how to make your VP an ally and advocate for your work, while acknowledging that the best path forward is often one that neither of you saw at the start. You will, ideally, walk away with a clearer plan to help decide where the ship is going instead of just being told to row.
Key takeaways
- Your ground-truth is your most valuable currency. The core of the partnership is a trade: your unfiltered view of reality for their strategic “why.” This is how you both stop guessing about what work actually matters.
- Your senior leadership isn’t a cabal; they’re disconnected.* Whether they’re a new leader learning the ropes or a veteran who’s lost touch, they are making big calls with incomplete information. Your role is to be their bridge to the team’s reality. Also, their meetings with bigwigs aren’t fun and their travel isn’t cool. JFYI.
- Context is the foundation of influence. Use the strategic “why” you gain from the partnership to move beyond brilliant execution. This is what allows you to propose better solutions, stop projects that don’t make sense, and help steer the ship instead of just being told to row.
*If you are an engineer with, say, Skull & Bones, they might be a cabal though.
