[buzzybee]

I'm seeing it as a feedback loop problem, again. Managers and stakeholders have an easy time remarking on surfaced progress. The developer has to think and communicate everything else. Going purely hands-off doesn't work, because then the developer will tend to wander towards working on the wrong problems and get mired in them. Neither does chaining them down to a deadline, since that creates rushed, ill-considered work.

So the people who are perceptually 10x tend to have hit on a strategy that keeps them in the feedback zone without being overly concerned about surfacing everything right this second, and have management that cooperate with their strategy.

[rudyrigot]

Author here. I agree that being able to produce advanced value is also a factor of the work environment; and not only the engineer's ability to be in touch with it, but also the environment's ability to keep the engineer in touch when they should be. I didn't think of it, but I think it's a great point.