#21 Cap Watkins (Primary, Buzzfeed) on helping new managers and the problem with taking other people's career ladders

#21 Cap Watkins (Primary, Buzzfeed) on helping new managers and the problem with taking other people's career ladders

Author: Progression March 11, 2020 Duration: 46:34

Cap Watkins is CXO at Primary, where he's responsible for Design, Product, People and engineering (oh my!).

In the recent past, he was a professional leadership coach and organizational consultant at Practical Works, helping senior contributors, first-time managers and managers-of-managers grow and evolve in their roles. Previously, he was VP of Design at BuzzFeed, where he managed Product Design. 

While at Buzzfeed Cap also created one of the most popular design frameworks on progression.fyi – https://www.progression.fyi/f/buzzfeed, which he then blogged about warning people not to use it directly. We talked about that along with several of his blog posts, including:

https://capwatkins.com/blog/skip-the-shortcuts

https://capwatkins.com/blog/two-questions

I'd been following and nagging Cap for an interview for months, so it's funny that it then took me six months to get the resulting interview out. It's a great and very much evergreen interview though, so lots to dig into.


Find cap on:

https://capwatkins.com/

https://twitter.com/cap


Who else should we be speaking to?

Be on the pod! Tell us about someone great! Just email podcast@progressionapp.com and tell us more.


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Figuring out a path forward in a tech career often feels like navigating without a map. We excel at crafting elegant systems for users, yet applying that same structured thinking to our own professional growth is surprisingly difficult. The Progression Podcast exists in that space, exploring the very human, often messy process of building a fulfilling career in technology. Rather than offering simplistic advice, we sit down with regular contributors and seasoned guests to unpack the real challenges-like the tension between managing people and staying hands-on with technical work, or the gap between the skills we have and the tools we wish our managers possessed. Conversations delve into practicalities, from understanding compensation and effective training to evaluating whether a new role is truly the right fit. This isn't about quick fixes; it's a candid look at the deliberate craft of career design, offering perspectives and stories that help you make more informed decisions about your own journey. Tune in for thoughtful discussions that move beyond the code to focus on the person writing it.
Author: Language: en-gb Episodes: 30

Progression Podcast
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