The Signal Is The Work - by Tarun Kohli

The core argument is that the most successful engineers focus on the work itself, not on external symbols of success. By treating mastery as the metric, they build deep competence that eventually attracts recognition without active self-promotion.

When you stop turning effort into performance and instead commit to the craft, you develop a reliable source of satisfaction that fuels long-term growth. The essay points out that attention is finite, so where you place it-on substance over style-quietly shapes your professional identity.

Over time the work speaks for itself and the right audience hears it, forming a tribe that values signal over hype. The takeaway for leaders is to model and reward mastery-focused behavior, letting genuine results become the primary driver of career advancement.