Transmuting Low-Value Programmer Cred into High-Value Status Illegibility
The concept of "status illegibility" is certainly an interesting one that coincides with some experiences I've had. In a former role in which I reported to the VP of Engineering, due to his lack of ability to directly evaluate work, he would base performance reviews on a weighted average of your teammates' assessment of your work. As such, it was very much, as the linked article on status illegibility states, that the "illegibility of the status of any member of a group is proportional to his/her distance from the edges of the group." In other words, performance near the median was widely praised, but performance both near the bottom or top received criticism. It was not a pleasant experience.Another hard-learned fact that he mentions is that being good at your job is overrated. Few of us would like to admit that, but as he explains, the benefits of some automation vs. no automation greatly exceed the benefits of some automation vs. better automation. The only workaround that I've found for that is evaluating roles for their need for technical excellence. Building a CRUD app to "revolutionize the [insert favorite industry here]"? It's not going to require or reward technical excellence. Unfortunately, the kinds of projects where technical excellence is legitimately required and rewarded are relatively rare.