Read the original at Lenny’s Newsletter ↗lennysnewsletter.com · subscriber post
By Lenny Rachitsky · lennysnewsletter.com · @lennysan on X · YouTube · LinkedIn
A guest post by former Amazon executive Ethan Evans introducing the Magic Loop, a five-step cycle for growing your career by doing your current job well, offering help to your manager, and asking for work tied to your goals. It also covers advanced variations, handling difficult managers, and when to leave.
Subscriber post — summary only01Key takeaways
- Make sure you're doing your current job well and verify it by asking your manager for feedback before seeking more.
- Volunteer for the unglamorous tasks managers need done; this builds trust and creates credit you can later spend on growth work.
- Once trust exists, ask for work aligned with your career goals, framed as helping the manager and developing you.
- Progress from asking what's needed, to proposing your own win-win ideas, to acting on needs independently and informing your manager.
- If a manager stays unhelpful after you've tried the loop, relationship-building and self-improvement come first, then moving to a new role.
“The magic in the loop is building a collaborative, mutually beneficial relationship.”Ethan Evans · Lenny’s Newsletter
“The Magic Loop is simple and effective.”Ethan Evans · Lenny’s Newsletter
02Frameworks mentioned
Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.