Senior Developer Mindset

Philosophy

Understand the Big Picture

• Do you really understand the problem you're solving?
• How does this work tie into the company's goals or the goals of your team?
• Don't just implement the solution - ask why we're doing it, challenge the assumptions, and connect the dots between the work itself, the regulators, and the users.

Dig into the Difficult or Unknown Code

• If something looks confusing or fragile, don't avoid it, go after it.
• Be that person that untangles complexity and refactors for the better.

Deeply Know Your Area of Responsibility

• Are you the person that people go to when they have a question?
• Become that guy. Know everything there is to know about your area.

Document the Work You've Done

• Your code and the decisions made should be understandable without you in the room.
• Document all work you do, organize it as you think makes sense, and explain your reasoning.

Impact + Visibility > Busywork + Heads-Down

• Can your work product be slimmed down to a small list of random items?
• Are you just a white-collar widget maker?
• You can't just be a worker bee if you want to move up - you can't just do the work well, you have to get people to see it.
• Have real impact. Be the MVP on your team.

Journal Your Day/Week and Reflect

• Take notes and document how things have gone.

Take Initiative

• If the lead is out, take over.
• Be the Mayor of your area. Own that shit.

Own, Refactor, and Understand the Scariest Part of the Codebase

• If you become an expert on what others avoid, you become invaluable.

Philosophy Questions

Understand the Big Picture

• Did I fully understand how my work today ties into the priorities?
• Did I question why something is being done, or did I just execute tasks?
• Do I see how today’s work affects users, stakeholders, and the broader system?

Dig into the Difficult or Unknown Code

• Did I work on something challenging today, or did I stick to familiar/easy tasks?
• Did I ask questions, read documentation, or debug something I didn’t fully understand?
• Is there a piece of code I still don’t get, and what’s my plan to understand it better?

Deeply Know Your Area of Responsibility

• Did I encounter any gaps in my knowledge today? If so, how can I fill them?
• If someone had a question, would I have been able to confidently answer it? If not, what do I need to learn?
• Did I make an effort to understand changes, updates, or upcoming work that will impact my area?

Document the Work You've Done

• If I left today, could someone else pick up my work tomorrow?
• Did I write clear commit messages, PR descriptions, or notes that explain decisions?
• Would future me understand why I made these choices if I looked at this in six months?

Impact + Visibility > Busywork + Heads-Down

• If someone asked what I accomplished today, would it sound like high-value impact or just tasks?
• Did I share or highlight any work in a way that makes it visible to the right people?
• Did I avoid getting lost in low-impact work and instead focus on things that matter?

Journal Your Day/Week and Reflect

• What was my biggest win or challenge today?
• Did I learn something that I should write down or revisit later?
• Is there anything that I would do differently if I had to redo today?

Take Initiative

• Did I step up anywhere today where leadership was needed?
• Did I look for opportunities to improve things proactively, or did I just execute tasks?
• If my lead wasn’t here today, would I have naturally filled that gap?

Own, Refactor, and Understand the Scariest Part of the Codebase

• Did I work on a part of the system that others avoid?
• Did I make any progress in simplifying, refactoring, or documenting something messy?
• Am I becoming the go-to person for the tough parts of the system?