The key to thriving is mastering the principles that help you navigate your digital career growth. One article that highlights this journey is 3 Career Principles to Director at Google by Chaitali Narla. She shares her experience of rising from an entry-level engineer (L3) to an engineering director (L8) at Google—gaining five promotions in ten years. Her story provides valuable insights into the macro principles of Glue, Grit, and Friction that can serve as a roadmap for fast-tracking your digital career in the digital world.
Glue: The Invisible Force of Leadership
In Chaitali’s early career at Google, she found herself overwhelmed by Glue work—those tasks essential for team success but not always recognized as promotable work. As she discovered through Tanya Reilly’s insights, Glue work must be balanced with core technical work. Overemphasizing Glue can trap you in roles that limit career progression, but when strategically applied, it can demonstrate technical leadership.
Digital Command Takeaway: As you build your digital career in a digital-first world, mastering both Glue and core skills is crucial. At Digital Command, we advocate for balancing essential teamwork and leadership with hands-on, promotable technical skills. The key is creating visible artifacts—like project documentation and cross-functional leadership examples—that highlight your role as a force multiplier, ensuring your digital career stays on an upward trajectory.
“Digital First, Jobs Second”—balancing technical prowess with leadership ensures you stay ahead in this AI-driven future and future-proofs your digital career.
Grit: The Will to Pursue Long-Term Goals
Grit played a pivotal role in Chaitali’s career success. Solving complex, long-term problems requires persistence and a clear vision. Chaitali’s experience breaking down a year-long monolithic system overhaul into achievable quarterly goals demonstrates that patience, combined with visibility, earns recognition. Her grit helped her overcome numerous challenges in her digital career.
Digital Command Takeaway: We believe that Grit is a foundational principle for digital transformation and vital for advancing your digital career. Big projects—like navigating a career pivot or leading a team through change—don’t have quick fixes. Break large problems into manageable tasks, celebrate milestones, and normalize learning from failure. This long-term persistence is key to mastering AI, data fluency, and the skills needed to lead with command throughout your digital career.
Friction: The Gap Between the Ideal and Reality
Friction arises when your team is blocked by organizational or systemic obstacles. Chaitali’s promotion to Director came after she successfully resolved a dependency issue between teams at Google. She didn’t simply wait for others to fix it—she empowered her team to work with a partner group to remove roadblocks and unlock progress, a vital skill for advancing in any digital career.
Digital Command Takeaway: Leaders must tackle Friction head-on to drive progress. By unblocking teams, resolving communication gaps, and overcoming technical hurdles, you become a key player in digital transformation. At Digital Command, we emphasize this proactive approach. Learning to manage friction ensures you can not only navigate change but lead it effectively in your digital career.
Conclusion: Command Your Digital Career with These Principles
In the digital-first world, where change is the only constant, understanding and applying the principles of Glue, Grit, and Friction can help you thrive. Whether you’re solving problems in AI, mastering digital tools, or leading a team through transformation, these principles will give you the edge needed to navigate and accelerate your digital career.
Start your journey now. Build the digital skills to master change, lead with command, embrace innovation, and future-proof your digital career for long-term success. Check out the Digital Command Academy for our courses.
Further Reading: Check out the original article by Chaitali Narla here.
