There are three things you can watch forever: a product manager pushing the deadline, an architect aligning arrows, and feathers flying when two seniors clash. All thrilling, no doubt — but it still begs the question: what are seniors actually for?
Let’s recall who’s on the team:
- Product Manager – his only product so far is making it into Forbes 30 under 30.
- Team Lead – a climate activist: ensures everything in the team is soft, cozy, and free from toxic emissions. No longer a developer, not yet a manager.
- Middle – the backbone, carrying it all. Dreams of becoming a senior so they can “think instead of do.” But performance review gets in the way: “Needs more technical initiative… yada yada yada.”
- Junior – extinct. Replaced by Copilot.
- Senior – joined last. But hey, thanks for showing up.
Sometimes, to get things moving, you need to bring pain. Say the unpleasant. Push through the hard stuff. Go one-on-one with a senior from another team. Slip changes past the pipeline, hotfix in prod. Who else is going to do it?
A sharp team lead always keeps a well-fed senior nearby — one who shares the values but isn’t bound by corporate fluff. Someone who can occasionally bend best practices. This senior can dive into fire, ship to prod, or DM the architect across the aisle. When it’s time, they’re unleashed. They strike, tear through, get shit done.
Of course, the team lead scolds them afterwards — for the record. But quietly throws them a treat. Because hey — results.
A senior is the perfect tool for dirty work. When you need more progress and less consensus. A blend of boldness, individualism, and controlled chaos.