When promotion becomes a curse
Some promotions are gifts. Others are how good engineers get quietly removed from the work that made them valuable.
A strong senior engineer gets promoted to manager. Six months later, they're managing five people, no longer coding, and worse at the job than they used to be at the previous one. The org lost an excellent IC and gained a mediocre manager.
Why it happens
Most companies have one promotion ladder. Past senior, the only way up is management. The engineer who's good but doesn't want to manage hits a ceiling — and accepts the promotion they shouldn't take because the alternative is being stuck.
The fix
A genuine staff/principal IC track, with parity in title, compensation, and influence. Not a fig leaf. The engineers who keep shipping at the senior+ level are some of the highest-leverage people in the company. Forcing them into management as the only path is bad for them and worse for the team.
Not every great engineer should become a manager. Most companies fail this test.