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career skill

/skills/career

This skill guides career growth and leadership development, helping you plan goals, improve soft skills, and prepare for leadership roles.

npx playbooks add skill pluginagentmarketplace/custom-plugin-typescript --skill career

Review the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.

Files (5)
SKILL.md
2.0 KB
---
name: career-development
description: Master career development, leadership, communication, and organizational skills. Use when planning career growth, preparing for leadership roles, or developing soft skills.
sasmp_version: "1.3.0"
bonded_agent: 07-career-management-leadership
bond_type: PRIMARY_BOND
---

# Career Development & Leadership Skill

## Quick Start - 1-on-1 Conversation Guide

**As a Tech Lead/Manager:**

```
Opening:
"How are you doing this week?"

Career Development:
"What are your goals for the next 6 months?"
"What skills do you want to develop?"
"How can I support your growth?"

Feedback:
"You did well on X because Y"
"For next time, consider Z"

Closing:
"How can I help you succeed?"
```

## Core Competencies

### Leadership
- Vision setting
- Strategic thinking
- Decision-making
- Team motivation
- Conflict resolution
- Delegation

### Communication
- Clear writing
- Public speaking
- Active listening
- Feedback delivery
- Storytelling

### Management
- Hiring and recruitment
- Performance management
- Career development
- 1-on-1s
- Team building

### Business Skills
- Financial literacy
- Metrics and data
- Stakeholder management
- Negotiation
- Networking

## Career Progression

**IC Track**: Engineer → Senior → Staff → Principal
**Management Track**: Engineer → Manager → Director → VP
**Specialist Track**: Engineer → Expert → Distinguished

## Best Practices

1. **Communication** - Clear and frequent
2. **Mentoring** - Invest in people
3. **Continuous Learning** - Stay current
4. **Documentation** - Clear decision records
5. **Feedback** - Regular and actionable
6. **Balance** - Work-life equilibrium
7. **Growth Mindset** - Embrace learning
8. **Accountability** - Own decisions

## Resources

- [The Manager's Path - Camille Fournier](https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/the-managers-path/9781491973882/)
- [Radical Candor - Kim Scott](https://www.radicalcandor.com/)
- [First Round Review](https://firstround.com/review/)

Overview

This skill helps you master career development, leadership, communication, and organizational skills for technical professionals and managers. It provides practical guidance for 1-on-1s, goal setting, feedback, and role progression across individual contributor and management tracks. Use it to plan growth, prepare for leadership roles, and strengthen soft skills that drive team impact.

How this skill works

The skill guides you through structured 1-on-1 conversation templates, core competency frameworks, and clear progression paths for IC, management, and specialist careers. It highlights leadership, communication, management, and business skills to inspect gaps and create actionable development plans. It also recommends practices and resources to sustain continuous learning and measurable growth.

When to use it

  • Preparing or running effective 1-on-1 meetings with direct reports
  • Planning a 6–12 month career development roadmap
  • Transitioning from IC to manager or into a senior technical track
  • Designing feedback and performance conversations
  • Strengthening team communication, delegation, or conflict resolution

Best practices

  • Communicate clearly and frequently; document decisions and outcomes
  • Provide regular, specific, and actionable feedback
  • Invest in mentoring and build others’ capabilities
  • Maintain continuous learning and a growth mindset
  • Balance accountability with empathy to support sustainable performance

Example use cases

  • A tech lead running a weekly 1-on-1 using the opening, development, feedback, and closing script
  • An engineer mapping a path from Senior to Staff with targeted skill goals
  • A new manager setting up performance management rhythms and hiring priorities
  • A director coaching peers on stakeholder management and cross-functional influence
  • A professional practicing storytelling and active listening for stronger presentations

FAQ

How do I choose between IC and management tracks?

Assess where you gain the most satisfaction and impact: IC roles deepen technical influence, while management amplifies impact through people and strategy. Use short-term experiments like skipping a few leadership tasks or mentoring to test fit.

What makes feedback effective?

Effective feedback is timely, specific, balanced (praise + improvement), and tied to clear examples and next steps. Pair feedback with support and follow-up in future 1-on-1s.