from Gergely Orosz | by Gergely Orosz

I keep being surprised how - especially in Europe - in many companies CTOs and VP Eng’s think of themselves as the “tech elite”, and happily join communities that reinforce (and expect) this status-based thinking. This never resonated with me, and I don’t think it ever will.

Servant leadership & impact over titles is what has worked for me, and it’s what I observe leaders at the most successful companies do. Status-based/hierarchical approaches also work in tech, as the industry grows so fast that even if you do things poorly, you can still succeed.

What promoted this was one of these community founders reaching out to include them in one of my articles. They’re the poster child of this thinking: describing themselves as “tech elite”, “exclusive club”, “the best”, “top-notch”, “alpha”. Over 100 EU CTOs/VP Eng are members.