5 Traits I Keep Seeing in ICs Who Outgrow Their Roles Fast
Things that set ICs apart and traits you'll want to build early in your career
Reading time: 6 mins
How great would it be to get promoted every year? New title, better comp, bigger scope, from junior to senior to lead—super fast. People say it is unrealistic, that you need to sit in a role long enough to grow into it.
Fair enough. But still—some ICs outgrow their roles in 2 years, others take 5. Sure, company size, company performance and timing matter. But that’s not the whole story.
What’s the real difference between the ones who move fast and the ones who don’t?
I’ve worked in a 3000-employee company, a 12-person startup, and now a 300-person company. I hope to be at a 30,000-person company some day too.
Across all these places, I’ve seen a common batch of the 1%. The 1% ICs who grow super fast. They’re not the smartest in the room, they’re not the loudest, they don’t work late or write the most lines of code.
They do things that don’t show up in performance reviews, but quietly shape how people see them. According to McKinsey, top performers in technical IC roles are up to 800% more productive than average performers—especially in complex environments.
That kind of growth comes from a different mindset, not just working hard. I’ve tired to compile a list of 5 traits you could also try and develop to be a top IC. This isn’t a polished exhaustive list. It is just a list of my observations.
If you’re a new reader here, thanks for giving me 5-10 mins out of your life. I hope this article can give you some value this week. Consider subscribing, the fish at my desk will love it 😊
They protect their time like it’s sacred
One of my biggest achievements in the past 3 years—my calendar has largely stayed empty. It takes work to do that. But my gym time, learning time, and isolated design time are non-negotiables.
High-growth IC’s treat time like a finite resource, because it is!
You don’t need to join every sync and meeting. You definitely don’t have to say yes to every “quick catch-up.“ Most of them can be long messages or voice notes. (Also, a non-sponsored shoutout to Loom for making my life easier)
Creating time-boundaries within colleague interactions will let you make space for deep work. Cal Newport mentions it often in his bestseller Deep Work.
High performers do this because they know their real value doesn’t come from being available—it comes from delivering clarity, progress, and focus.
They confront misalignment instead of quietly adapting
Most people sense when something’s off—a confusing roadmap, a half-baked project, a decision that makes no sense—and just go with it. Not these ICs.
They ask questions.
They push back, respectfully, but firmly.
They call out gaps between what’s said and what’s actually happening.
Frankly, if you’re being yelled at or relegated because you’re calling out BS at a team or org level, they don’t deserve you. Find a place where you’re respected.
Quietly adapting feels safe in the moment. But it slows everyone down in the long run.
They invest in clarity even when no one asked them to
No one assigns clarity to these top-notch ICs. No one rewards it directly. But they do it anyway.
They rewrite vague tickets. They clean up docs that confuse everyone. They draw diagrams, write up next steps, make mind-maps—they bring order to chaos without being told to do so.
Why? Because they know teams move faster when things are clear. Not when everyone’s busy.
Clarity is definitely a performance multiplier at all levels. It stays invisible to most, but is like second nature to some people.
They make themselves obsolete at the right time
You definitely don’t have to be irreplaceable. But moving on to harder problems while someone else is enabled to deal with slightly simpler ones is a good thing for an IC.
The way to do that is to document your process, share what you learn, teach others how to do parts of your job and automate repeated steps.
To cling to a task or system limits your growth—even if you stop getting credit for creating it in the first place. Star ICs don’t dwell on their victories much, they move on to more challenging tasks.
The more you give away, the more room it creates for development.
They’re not afraid to be disliked—for the right reasons
I’ll be honest. I’m not the first person my team thinks of when planning a dinner. They assume I won’t be there and that I’m not a fun person to hang out in a club with. I’m fine with that—most of my high quality design work happens late evening and early mornings.
If you want to be a high-performing IC, you have to get comfortable with friction. Others might push for speed, you push for clarity. Others might conform to the manager’s words, you ask uncomfortable questions. Others focus on superficial recognitions, you focus on holding the bar high—on craft, on quality, on communication—even if it means you’re the villain at times.
Sometimes it frustrates people. In hindsight, everyone’s better for it.
It’s like that famous Robin Sharma book - The Leader Who Had No Title. You really have to lead before you actually get the title.
Lot of words, so here’s a summary
Phew, too many things to remember. Let me help you with 5 questions you can ask yourself this week (and as I write them, I know it will be more than 5) to start moving in the right direction—
Look at your calendar—what’s on there that protects your deep work time? If nothing, how many blocks will you book today for yourself?
What’s one thing in your work that just doesn’t make sense? Could you clarify it instead of adjusting to it?
Where’s one place in your work—tickets, doc, Slack—you could bring 10x more clarity?
Is there something you do manually that you could automate, document, or hand off to free up your time?
When’s the last time you challenged a low bar, even if it ruffled some feathers? Where can you do it this week?
More than any other trait, you have to start believing that you can do more, achieve more, and be more. Self belief can be an unfair advantage which goes beyond any trait or habit.
ICs who grow fast aren’t waiting for permission. They act like they’ve already earned the next level—and then reverse-engineer the actions needed today.
Not louder. Just sharper. More intentional.
Share this post with a friend you think can do better and let them know you believe in them.
Good post! Loved reading and also connecting to some of the things said. Specially, automating the processes and my day to day tasks that I can teach to others and not be bogged down by them. Subscribed!
Come say Hi if you want to learn about micro improvements in life. I write about that at thedoersclub.substack.com ! :)