Lead Without a Ladder: How I Climbed Into Engineering Leadership

The presentation "Lead Without a Ladder: How I Climbed Into Engineering Leadership" by Dr. Pauline Jepp explores an unconventional journey into engineering leadership. The talk shares insights and lessons for engineers who seek to grow in leadership roles without following a traditional career path. The presentation emphasizes the importance of supporting diverse teams, building trust, and embracing alternative routes to leadership.

Key Points:

• The journey into leadership can be nonlinear, akin to climbing a rugged mountain without fixed paths.
• Leading without formal authority requires gaining traction through impact and building diverse, empowered teams.
• Success in technical leadership involves autonomy, authenticity, and trust.
• Pauline shares personal stories of navigating different industries and cultures, highlighting the value of diverse experiences.
• Metaphors are used to illustrate concepts, with examples from swarm behaviors and rock climbing experiences applied to engineering leadership.
• Effective communication and trust-building are crucial in engineering management roles. This can involve mentoring, radical candor, and acknowledging both personal and team achievements.
• The importance of moving beyond productivity-based metrics to more meaningful measures of success in leadership roles.

This session is designed for engineering leaders who wish to advance in their careers without compromising their values and for those seeking to inspire others while climbing with purpose.

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Climbing into senior engineering leadership isn’t always a matter of following fixed rungs—it can be more like scaling a rugged, ever-shifting mountain. You know there might be a path somewhere on the south face but for some reason the North face has more appeal. Even though there are no clear routes, no guaranteed footholds, and often, no one ahead of you to follow. For engineers who want to grow outside of the typical route, the climb can feel isolating and unclear.

In this talk, I’ll share how I navigated an unconventional ascent from working in a video game store to becoming Head of Engineering. Along the way, I learned to lead often without formal authority, gaining traction through impact, and building diverse teams. My journey included traversing different industries, cultures, and roles—all without losing grip on what mattered most: autonomy, authenticity, and trust.

This session is for engineering leaders who want to keep climbing without compromising who they are. You’ll learn:

• How to chart your own route into technical leadership
• Ways to support underrepresented voices while growing team strength
• Why building inclusive, empowered teams is the most rewarding summit
• Whether you’re just eyeing the next ridge or leading from high altitude, this talk will help you climb with purpose—and bring others up with you