The Silent Killer of Tech Leadership: Why Failing to Sell Yourself & Your Team Destroys Trust
Levan MamulashviliShare
Introduction: The Hidden Cost of Staying Silent
In 2013, BlackBerry was still a recognizable force in mobile technology. Its engineers were among the best in the world, its infrastructure was secure, and its keyboard devices were loved by millions.
But inside the company, something was missing: the ability to sell its own vision.
BlackBerry’s leadership failed to market its technical innovations—to both customers and internal stakeholders. While Apple and Google dominated the narrative, BlackBerry’s engineers assumed their work would speak for itself. It didn’t.
As a result:
❌ The market saw BlackBerry as outdated, despite having better security than the competition.
❌ Internal executives lost faith in their own tech teams, leading to constant strategic shifts.
❌ BlackBerry collapsed from market leadership to irrelevance—not because of bad engineering, but because of bad storytelling.
This isn’t just a BlackBerry problem. It’s happening in your company right now.
- Your tech team is doing great work, but no one outside engineering knows it.
- Your executives don’t trust engineering decisions because they don’t understand the impact.
- Your competitors—who might not even be better—are selling themselves and gaining recognition.
👉 If you don’t market yourself and your team, you don’t just get ignored—you get underestimated.
And when you’re underestimated, you lose budget, influence, and trust.
This is the silent killer of tech leaders, and if you’ve felt this before, you’re already at risk.
Let’s look at real-world failures caused by engineering teams who failed to sell themselves—and what happens when they do it right.
Case Study #1: The Engineers Who Built the iPhone… and Got No Credit
In 2005, Tony Fadell and his team at Apple were building the first iPhone. They were pushing the limits of hardware and software—but Steve Jobs took all the credit.
Even within Apple:
- Engineers felt invisible because marketing only showcased Steve.
- Their internal influence dropped—meaning their recommendations weren’t always taken seriously.
- It became hard to retain top talent because there was no external recognition of their work.
This created tension inside Apple, leading many iPhone engineers to leave and start their own companies (like Nest, which Google later acquired for $3.2 billion).
👉 Lesson for Tech Leaders: If your team isn’t recognized, they’ll look elsewhere.
🛑 Are you keeping quiet, expecting your work to speak for itself?
🚀 Or are you positioning yourself and your team as key drivers of company success?
Case Study #2: Microsoft’s Technical Resurgence – The Power of Storytelling
For over a decade, Microsoft was seen as a dinosaur in tech.
- Engineers built great enterprise products, but Microsoft had no compelling narrative.
- The company was losing talent to Google, Facebook, and Amazon.
- Investors saw Microsoft as "uncool" compared to other tech giants.
Then Satya Nadella became CEO in 2014—and everything changed.
Nadella marketed Microsoft’s engineering teams as world-class innovators:
✅ He positioned Azure as the most trusted cloud for enterprises.
✅ He showcased the work of Microsoft engineers in AI and open-source.
✅ He made engineers the face of Microsoft’s transformation, not just executives.
🚀 The result?
💰 Microsoft’s stock price skyrocketed.
💡 Engineers felt valued and motivated.
🏆 Microsoft went from uncool to essential in enterprise software.
👉 Lesson for Tech Leaders: When you market your tech teams, the company wins.
🛑 Are you hiding in the background while executives take the credit?
🚀 Or are you making sure your team’s work is known and respected?
Case Study #3: Uber’s Engineering Team Had to Fight for Recognition
Uber’s early success wasn’t just about business strategy—it was about engineering excellence.
But here’s what happened:
- In 2015, executives were making wild promises about self-driving cars… without engineering input.
- Tech teams weren’t included in major PR announcements, even though they built the products.
- When things went wrong (like legal issues with self-driving tests), engineering got blamed.
It wasn’t until Uber’s engineering leaders started writing technical blogs, speaking at conferences, and openly showcasing their work that things changed.
🚀 By owning their narrative, they earned:
✅ Trust from executives.
✅ Recognition from top engineers worldwide.
✅ Recruiting power—because engineers wanted to work for a team that was respected.
👉 Lesson for Tech Leaders: If you don’t control your own story, someone else will control it for you.
🛑 Are you letting business leaders define engineering’s reputation?
🚀 Or are you actively marketing your team’s value?
How Engineering Teams Lose Trust When They Don’t Sell Themselves
🚨 Your CEO doubts engineering’s impact.
If leadership doesn’t understand what your team does, they won’t prioritize your needs.
🚨 You lose budget and headcount.
If your team isn’t seen as a strategic asset, you won’t get the resources you need.
🚨 Your best engineers leave.
If they feel undervalued, they’ll go where their work is recognized.
🚨 Other teams get credit for your work.
If you’re not selling your team’s success, marketing or product teams will take the spotlight.
🚨 You get overlooked for promotions.
If you’re not seen as a strategic leader, you won’t move up.
🚨 Competitors outshine you—even if their tech is worse.
If your competitors tell a better story, they will win the trust of customers and investors.
Final Thoughts: The Hard Truth About Selling Yourself and Your Team
💡 BlackBerry had better security than Apple—but it didn’t market it. It died.
💡 Uber engineers were ignored until they fought for recognition—now they are a top-tier engineering team.
💡 Microsoft’s transformation wasn’t just technical—it was about marketing its engineers as visionaries.
If you don’t sell yourself, you will be underestimated.
If you don’t market your team, their work will be ignored.
If you don’t control your story, someone else will.
🚀 Are you ready to stop being overlooked and start leading with authority?