Lead Without a Ladder: How I Climbed Into Engineering Leadership
InfoQ, Tuesday, September 15th, 2026
Engineering leader shares strategies for transitioning to leadership using systems thinking and mentorship.
Pauline Jepp discusses her unconventional path from IC engineer to engineering leadership, drawing parallels from rock climbing and flocking behaviors.
She emphasizes balancing team autonomy with alignment, making invisible work visible through mentorship programs, and using engineering expertise to solve people-centric problems.
Key themes include supporting diverse teams, building psychological safety, managing founders as peers, and redefining success beyond code quality to team empowerment and organizational impact.