3 Critical Career Mistakes Engineering Leaders Make ft. Limor Bergman Gross

This episode focuses on the transition from technical execution to organizational impact. Limor Bergman Gross shares how many engineering managers get stuck because they focus solely on being good at their jobs. She explains that promotion to director or VP levels requires a shift in focus. It is no longer about how well you code or manage a sprint, but about how well the organization knows your impact.The conversation explores the "trust gap," where leaders mistakenly believe their direct manager is the only one who needs to see their value. Limor and Mark discuss the necessity of building strategic relationships across the company. They provide a framework for stakeholder management that relies on curiosity and solving business problems rather than internal politics. This approach helps technical leaders gain the visibility needed for executive roles.Finally, the discussion covers the practicalities of leadership like delegating effectively and giving direct feedback. Limor highlights the "busy trap" where leaders fill their schedules with low-impact tasks to feel productive. She offers strategies for pushing back on non-essential requests to create space for strategy. The episode concludes with advice on using the Radical Candor framework to build high-performing teams through clear, empathetic communication.About LimorLimor Bergman Gross is a former Director of Engineering with over 20 years of experience across software engineering, engineering management, and organizational leadership. She has led teams through growth, scaling pressure, and complex delivery environments, working closely with CTOs and senior executives to align technology, people, and business priorities.Known early in her career as the “reliable leader” and escalation point, Limor learned firsthand how high-performing leaders can unintentionally become bottlenecks at scale. Today, she works as an executive leadership coach with senior engineering leaders and CTO-adjacent roles, helping them transition from hands-on decision-makers to strategic leaders who build teams that think, decide, and execute independently.Her work focuses on decision-making, ownership, leadership culture, and the real trade-offs tech leaders face as they move from execution to executive impact.Chapters00:00 Software Engineer to Leadership06:33 Getting Promoted14:39 Ad15:11 What are You Busy With?20:26 How to Give Feedback22:53 Female Engineers!24:50 Coaching The Executives29:08 Ad29:19 Getting Unstuck36:54 Working with Different People40:45 What is Your Impact?Where to find Limor• Website: https://limorbergman.com/podcast/• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/limorbergman/• Instagram: https://instagram.com/limorbergman• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LimorBergman