Issue #38 | 03/4/2026

A Slack notification pops up about a deployment issue. Before you can think, you’re three threads deep, troubleshooting something that wasn't yours to solve. Thirty minutes later, you surface frazzled, behind on your actual priorities, and wondering why your calendar was packed, but your real work is stalled.

Sound familiar?

Real talk: The same competence that gets you promoted becomes the trap that keeps you stuck. You're good at solving problems. People know you're good at solving problems. So they bring you problems. And because you're helpful (and maybe a little addicted to the dopamine hit of fixing things), you keep saying yes.

But strategic work, real strategic work, requires altitude. You cannot see the full landscape when you're nose-down in the weeds. And yet, the gravitational pull of tactical work is relentless. There's always an emergency. Always someone who needs a quick answer. Always something that feels urgent but isn't actually important.

Those who break through to Director and VP levels aren't necessarily smarter or working harder. They've mastered the discipline of operating at the right altitude. They know when to descend into the details and when to stay at 30,000 feet. They've built systems, relationships, and boundaries that protect their strategic time.

This issue is about that transition; from the person who fixes everything to the person who makes sure the right things get fixed, by the right people, at the right time.

In this issue:

Sincerely,

Phedra Arthur Iruke

500+ jobs pulled. One caught my eye.

🏆 Hero Job of the Week: Director, Business Operations – People & Culture | Zscaler | San Jose, CA
💰 $168K – $240K base + equity

This one is for the delivery professional who's been sitting in executive rooms, making decisions better, building the rhythms that keep entire organizations from falling apart, and still getting passed over because nobody gave them the right title. Zscaler is looking for someone to be the operating system for their People & Culture org, which means OKR management, executive reporting, cross-functional special projects, and basically being the person the VP of People Operations can't function without. That's not a project manager job. That's a strategic partner job. The comp reflects it too: $168K to $240K base plus equity at a publicly traded cybersecurity company. Hybrid in San Jose, Tue through Thu onsite. If you have 10+ years in business ops or strategy supporting VP-level leaders, go APPLY!

Filter on Director-level roles, and it should be one of the top results

👉 Browse this week's top roles 👇

New roles added daily.

Should You Include Engineers in Your Leadership Meetings?
Source: Will Larson (Irrational Exuberance)
Will Larson shares his evolution from traditional management hierarchies to including senior engineers directly in his core leadership meetings at Stripe. He argues that treating engineers like "adults to be involved" rather than "children to be managed" unlocks better decisions and stronger alignment. A must-read for anyone building high-trust technical teams.
→ https://lethain.com/should-include-eng-in-eng-leadership/


Measuring to Learn vs. Measuring to Control
Source: John Cutler (cutle.fish)
Cutler breaks down why teams that use metrics as a catalyst for learning outpace teams that use them for control. When measurement becomes about safety and autonomy, ideas flow. When it becomes a weapon for judgment, creativity dies. Essential reading for anyone setting OKRs or team metrics.
→ https://cutle.fish/blog/measure-to-learn-not-to-control/

"The difference between successful people and really successful people is that
really successful people say no to almost everything."

— Warren Buffett

(If it's good enough for Warren, it's good enough for your calendar.)

This week's theme: Uncomfortable Truths

There's a difference between being indispensable and being irreplaceable. Indispensable people are stuck. They can't take a vacation without chaos erupting. Irreplaceable people have built systems that outlast their involvement. Your goal is the second one.

What I've learned:

• The "first responder" badge feels good, but costs you your strategic leverage. Every time you jump on a tactical issue that someone else could handle, you train the organization to need you for that level of work. It's a hard habit to break because you're getting positive reinforcement: gratitude, quick wins, the satisfaction of being helpful.

• Your calendar is a mirror of your priorities. If strategic work isn't blocked on your calendar, it's not a priority; it's a wish. The most effective senior delivery professionals I know treat strategic blocks as sacred. They don't "find time" for strategy; they protect it.

• Delegation isn't abdication; it's development. The biggest mindset shift for me was realizing that keeping work to myself wasn't just limiting my own growth; it was stunting my team's. The best gift you can give a high-potential team member is meaningful ownership of something that matters.

• Altitude isn't binary; it's a dial. There are times when the right move is to get deep in the weeds. A critical launch, a major incident, a high-stakes negotiation. The skill is knowing when to descend and having the discipline to climb back out. Most of us are great at descending, terrible at climbing.

Your move this week:

→ Audit your last week of calendar invites. How many hours were spent in tactical problem-solving versus strategic planning? If the ratio is off (and it probably is), block 4 hours this week for "altitude work"—no meetings, no Slack, no email. Just strategic thinking, planning, or relationship-building at the right level.

→ Identify one recurring tactical task you're still holding onto that someone on your team could own. Have the conversation this week about transferring that ownership. Expect resistance—from yourself and them. Push through it.

→ Practice the strategic pause. Before jumping into the next "urgent" issue that lands in your lap, ask: "Is this truly my altitude? Or am I just the fastest responder?" Sometimes the answer will be yes. Often, it won't.

Keep showing up, keep cheering each other on.

How I can help?

The Delivery Career Decoder is the first comprehensive career transformation system designed specifically for delivery professionals, program managers, and technical operations experts who are ready to break through the "execution ceiling" and step into strategic leadership roles. This is a proven methodology that leverages your unique strengths as a delivery professional while systematically building the strategic positioning, executive presence, and communication skills that open doors to VP, Director, and C-suite opportunities.

The Business of Delivery Team

P.S.

You got this!