> I think better terms than big picture people are ones that think abstractly, conceptually, or analytically. These are the folks who are good 'at naming things'. That means they understood both the business aspect of what areas to separate and iterate upon, as well as isolating technical factors that minimize code quantity and maximize flexibility. If they can do this with a minimal amount of abstract machinery/metaprogramming, that's golden.

This is what I aim for, too. Seems to be working fine for me. Some tips for OP:

- Try to get a lot of informal chats with relevant departments. Being in the office or at events s.t. you can join conversations + talk face to face helps.

- Be a „yes man“ whenever other departments have some technical issue that needs to addressed. Or even if it's nothing technical.

- Think more from a business perspective during technical planning and implementation. Does it really create value to code more than the most basic MVP here? Do we really need that fancy technology and scalability?

- Get good at communication and soft skill in general. If you're smart but „difficult to work with“, you'll end up doing mostly specialized work.

- Get good at note taking and knowledge management. Where was that link to the product roadmap that was shared two months again? What was the context for that design decision two years ago? It's useful if you're able to answer questions like this with your notes.