OutSystems or why sometimes you’re just in the wrong place…

There is more for you out there, trust me.

5 years have gone by since the day I moved from the 2nd largest city in Portugal to the largest one — something I never imagined doing — to work for a completely unknown (to me, at least) company at the time. This shot in the dark was made complete by my better-half also changing roles (and location), tagging along, and fulfilling my single requirement for the journey — her company.

Looking back, I can say it was hands down one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life. It was not easy, the company is not perfect, but this move has had such a strong impact on the person and professional I am today, that I decided to write about it. So, let me celebrate while I tell you this story—hopefully, it can help people who are today in the same place I was stuck back then…

Here’s hoping you understand I mean ‘stuck’ figuratively, and that I wasn’t in jail, or anything like that — this image is just to add some drama… and confusion!

The bad

I don’t want to work like this… will I be doing this for the rest of my life?
Where’s our purpose? What is my organization’s end goal…?
I’ve had it with the pats on the back, what about actually paying me better?

I probably shouldn’t complain — others have it worse — after all, I have a job…

Any of this sound familiar? For your sake, I hope not. However, my experience and that of those around me have shown me that this scenario is far more common than you’d think. It also allowed me to learn from observation, defining my attitude towards team management, people management, career vs personal life…

But, for now, I want to share how changing jobs changed me. Looking back, it’s not like I had any other option. I needed to change.

Here’s how things looked like 5 years ago:

• Informatics Engineer — not a hardcore techie, though. At the age of 26, I decided that I was done with the life-long dream of becoming a professional footballer — and started investing in my career. Things started going well until I eventually hit an invisible wall. Responsibility kept piling up, but my career wouldn’t progress, regardless of how hard I’d work or how much praise I‘d get.
• Career progression and salary reviews simply halted — a full-blown crisis had hit the country, internal moves within companies were not favored, as there was a clear lack of talent and business knowledge. I was hearing stories left and right about the leadership in the majority of organizations not caring about their people one bit (surprise, surprise! — everyone wanted out, and I was not an exception).
• It was taking me too long to find a new job — my self-confidence took a hit. Thoughts of insecurity ran rampant — “I’m unfit for the IT market…I’ve been doing the same thing for too long…my CV is weak, I have learned nothing valuable all these years and now I cannot stand out from the crowd …I’m probably not good enough for that role, anyway…”.
• Every company seemed to want me to be someone I was not — and did not plan to be. A “full-stack ninja developer”, a “senior project manager”, “The biggest expert on [Insert trending technology here]”… I knew I liked having a team and helping people grow, but I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do. Time would tell me that few of us know exactly what we want to do…

I was about to throw in the proverbial towel...

It’s a really sad story... Not as sad as this poor dog in its post-bath “what am I doing with my life?” meditation moment…

The good

I was tired of spending every lunch complaining about my misfortune. The ones who were listening to me are now in a similar place I was then, so I hope they read this and it resonates…

I took the initiative and unashamedly reached out via LinkedIn to a friend of a friend — that person became my boss 5 years later — who I’d heard was very happy working for his company. That short exchange of messages led to an informal conversation over a cup of coffee with a manager. A cup of coffee led to 4 different remote interviews. Finally, I was asked to go to Lisbon for a 1:1 with someone from the top management.

What I thought was going to be an enjoyable chat to discuss my bright and shiny future in his company—without going into spoilers it was a lot of things, but THAT, I assure you, it was not—ended up being both a story to tell my kids and a brutal reality check. It was utterly obvious to my interviewer that I needed to get out. My despair would mean the end of a long recruitment process (and not in a good way)... However, right before the interview was finished I was told I was going to receive a job offer—to join the company in Lisbon and become a Tech Lead.

Along came OutSystems. New city, new role, new technology, new methodology, new people… everything was made easier by the single most important thing I’ve found a company can have — its culture. In some companies, it is so well defined that it is documented. More important than that — it’s palpable during your interactions with everyone around you. To be helpful is part of the culture, it is a rule… but it came so naturally to everyone.

Ever since I joined, people around me wanted me to succeed; to enjoy working for the company, love living in Lisbon, and thrive in my new role. It’s unfair to blame it all on the company’s culture as a lot of the people I’ve met had only recently joined the company. Still, I was witnessing firsthand people practicing what they preached regarding helpfulness — from day one.

The company offices were textbook “Silicon Valley Tech Company”. The videogames, pool tables, boxing bags, bean bags, meeting rooms — named after (and with decoration inspired by) superheroes, movie and comic book characters, sci-fi locations…you name it. The sky was the limit when trying to instill creativity and promote a sense of belonging.

I also realized how crazy all OutSystems parties were. And everything was an excuse to party… Services Kick-Off? Party. Christmas? Party. It’s Summer, already? Guess what? Beach Party. You’d think it gets tiring… but it really doesn’t.

Have you ever seen someone dive from a 10cm-tall stage and still manage to FLY? I have, and it was glorious!

I was taught (yep, the right word) that you need to ask why. Over and over again. Until you know what you need to do your job well. Let me put it this way, the better you embody the culture and its rules, the better you’ll do. While some of these things came naturally to me, others (the ones that required me to be more vocal — a challenger) were dormant… but remember I told you that everyone around me wanted me to succeed? I was going to be ok!

The honeymoon period ended and it was time to do the job I was hired to do. The product made us a lot of times faster than our competition. I became addicted to the speed — but especially to the wow factor — that sense of awe our users felt when they witnessed the result of a single development sprint.

The impostor syndrome can kick in very fast when you have to lead people who are more knowledgeable than you in whatever topic you’re supposed to lead them in. Still, you count on their support, you push through, you fail and learn. Asking questions, challenging the status quo, helping others, asking feedback, giving feedback. I started promoting these behaviors in others around me and it was like a snowball. It was a virtuous cycle.

I got to know a lot of new people — when I joined the company we were around 400, and we’re now pushing 1500… I dealt with customers and cultures from around the globe, traveled to several countries, different continents. I bonded with the people who were with me in the trenches and we all became stronger.

I ended up understanding what being a leader means by experience and observation. I was surrounded by leaders daily. Technical, people, and thought leaders. For me, being a leader means:

1. Being able to create a path towards a common goal
2. Rising from elevating others

I kept learning, growing, and everything kept changing. I once read a Glassdoor review that said ‘If you have trouble dealing with change, you’re going to have a hard time at OutSystems”. This sentence is 100% true. Change is a constant. Due to my past experiences and my profile, that is a good thing.

I was always honest with my Manager, as I was always told to be. If I felt I needed a change, I would say it. If was tired of the way our management did this or that, I would tell him. I was never chastised for it, not in the least. The dialog was as open as I needed it to be, and I was always vocal about things I did not like. My frustration was never taken lightly, but it was also never taken personally. People did their best to keep me happy.

I changed roles, from Tech Lead to an Architecture Expert. From a team role to a more solitary one. A huge change of pace. No team to work with, but a major challenge in a one-man-show kind of role. My people skills were honed and I thrived in front of customers on my own.

It kept me going for some time, but I started thinking I’d like to go back to work with a team, maybe in an Engagement Manager role, closer to customers, learning a new trade. That was the moment I was invited to be an Expert Lead.

Personally, I’ve made friends for life. #teamaverage
More friends (and better ones) than I had hoped for, in almost every area of the company. Some left in pursuit of new challenges. I’m thankful for each one of them.

Professionally, though, I can categorize the interactions I’ve had with people in the last 5 years into 4 areas:

1. Sporadic contacts. I’ve had exactly 2 bad experiences and, unfortunately, both when I was still a newcomer. Those people apologized shortly after the occurrences and explained to me the reasons why. Other than that, in 5 years, nothing but good vibes and helpfulness — even when dealing with crises.
2. Project teammates. In the beginning, I was paired with developers who were rising stars and I was able to leverage their skills to make us all shine. As I became a more experienced Tech Lead, I still got extremely strong and mature developers that taught me and supported me. My Engagement Managers were seasoned professionals, invariably…My performance as a TL was solid because I was a part of winning teams. Simple as that. I owe those people A LOT.
3. Direct Managers. I had 8 direct Managers to this day. All of them still work at OutSystems and all, without exception, are people I look up to. I smile at the opportunity of catching up with any of them. As much as they all helped me, I must say that the last 3 kicked it up a few notches. They believed in me more than I believed myself, at times. They threw challenges at me left and right with the confidence I would tackle them successfully. They have also mentored me (and keep doing so) towards personal growth and professional success. Ironically, though, I had doubts regarding all 3…I was dead wrong, and have no one else to blame.
   Here I stand corrected… and here I thank them for correcting me.
4. My Team. I became an Expert Lead, and that put me in charge of a team of Architecture Experts and Tech Leads—a team of 10 currently, but more people have come and gone. A major part of my job is to make sure that they’re successful in delivering value to our customers and partners. Since I’m talking about some of the most knowledgeable and talented people in my organization, I feel that the most important part of my job is to keep them motivated and happy. #theremotes (current and past) is a group of extremely talented people that I am proud of, and they’ve played a major part in whichever level of success I was able to achieve in this role. I’m grateful for having them with me.

Almost anyone I work with daily deserved this award! But now it’s mine and I’m not giving it back!!

So, not only was I lucky enough to have worked with all these people but I was also given an award for my work in 2020. Best and Beyond (whatever that means) of our Global Delivery Center—the award recognizes people by Customer Satisfaction, Delivery Quality, Impact on the Customer, and Wow Factor. I wasn’t expecting it, but it sure felt great to be recognized!

5 years ago suddenly seemed so far behind me…

I don’t know what the future holds for me. I don’t know what I’ll do next.
I feel the need to change now and then and OutSystems changes often. I am a different person, self-confident and empowered. I feel I can take on any challenge, because I know I won’t do it alone.
Not professionally, not personally.

Takeaways

I’m creating a follow-up article to explore the lessons learned throughout the course of my 14 year-long career. I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but also learned a great deal — there’s content for a full-fledged article…

If I had to choose, there are 3 takeaways that I’d like to highlight.
Each from a different phase of the journey.

1. Your company doesn’t care for you? Get out!
   In some cases, easier said than done, believe me — I know. Still, the world is huge and even that market you think you know has tons of companies (of all shapes and sizes) that take care of their people. Pick a company, not a job. Good companies have good managers. Good managers will know how you can add value. The point is, don’t waste your precious time with a company that doesn’t deserve you.
2. It’s taking longer than you thought? Don’t give up!
   It might take time. It might take some effort to improve your resume. You might need to invest in improving soft skills, hard skills... Don’t feel you’re unfit, old, uninteresting... Brace yourself and be prepared for a long process. Don’t let it get to you. Lean on your friends — I did. It’s gonna happen — just be patient and keep doing what you can to improve your skills.
3. When you find a culture that makes sense, keep it alive!
   Did it start by being everything you’ve ever needed? Do you feel that lately that culture is washing off? You don’t see the same behaviors in others? Remember that you’re a part of the equation, also, and a pretty important one, too, if you know what a healthy culture is. So, fight for it, make yourself heard, give feedback. Make sure that newcomers find a better culture than the one you did.

Bonus. The key is to find a company that obsesses about its people’s happiness, relentlessly asks for (and listens to) feedback on how to improve, and makes you feel like an important part of the solution. Pretty easy, right?

If you’re still here…thanks for reading! :)