Lessons from the Other Side - What Your VP Is Actually Thinking

Discover how to bridge the critical information gap between senior staff engineers and VPs through this 25-minute conference talk that reveals the reality behind executive decision-making. Learn to transform your relationship with leadership from confusion and frustration to strategic partnership by understanding what VPs actually need and think. Explore the structural challenges that create disconnection between ground-level engineering reality and executive strategy, including why seemingly inexplicable leadership decisions often stem from incomplete information rather than secret agendas. Master the art of trading your unfiltered perspective on team reality for strategic context that explains the "why" behind organizational decisions. Gain practical strategies for becoming your VP's bridge to ground truth while positioning yourself as an ally and advocate for meaningful work. Understand how to leverage strategic context to move beyond execution into influence, enabling you to propose better solutions, challenge misguided projects, and actively participate in steering organizational direction rather than simply following orders. Benefit from insights drawn from both sides of the leadership divide, including the unique pressures VPs face when making high-stakes decisions with limited information and how senior engineers can fill critical knowledge gaps that improve outcomes for everyone.