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There is a grey area where a non-technical manager wants to make a decision without understanding the long term impacts of that decision. Is the good engineer s

There is a grey area where a non-technical manager wants to make a decision without understanding the long term impacts of that decision. Is the good engineer submissive here and go with the flow or does the good engineer put their foot down and suggest that that is not a good idea?

skybrian 7y ago
There are sometimes alternatives: - Let people learn from mistakes by making sure they can be backed out easily. Do more prototyping, etc. - Figure out how to make mistakes more visible to everyone, not just you. These are also helpful when you are the one making the mistake.
giancarlostoro 7y ago
No, of course not. Humility doesn't mean you become completely submissive. There's a fine difference between a great engineer blurting out "THAT WILL NEVER WORK, WHAT ARE YOU EVEN SAYING!?" and... "Hey, Jim, I think that's a reasonable proposal, however, I have some concerns ..." which do you think sounds like the professional / good engineer, and which one sounds like a Junior whose ahead of themselves? I've met people who literally believe humility to be a weakness, I think a lot of people misunderstand what it means to be humble these days.
- bob33212 7y ago
  It is one thing to understand that you are not perfect and you could learn something from everyone and to respect your co-workers. It is another thing to be a legitimate expert and to not voice your opinion to avoid conflict. I have seen smart people who avoid direct conflict at all costs. Even if that means working on something you know is a bad idea.
  - giancarlostoro 7y ago
    They do it out of fear of conflict probably, or in other cases you're so burned out you don't want to argue anymore. I've been burned out enough to where I didn't care anymore I just wanted it to be over with.
- erikpukinskis 7y ago
  Yeah, I do think it's a superpower to, even if you "know" something is right or wrong, to put it in the form of a question about a risk. You frame the other party as possibly having information you don't. It opens up two new good paths: 1) the other person actually having important perspective you don't, and you learning that in a civil way, and 2) the other person recognizing the problem, adapting the plan accordingly, and still feeling ownership over the plan. It also opens up a new bad path: 3) the other person being ashamed of not having this perspective and digging in on the bad plan. But if you're seeing #3 regularly, that's a job you need to quit ASAP.

skybrian 7y ago

There are sometimes alternatives: - Let people learn from mistakes by making sure they can be backed out easily. Do more prototyping, etc. - Figure out how to make mistakes more visible to everyone, not just you. These are also helpful when you are the one making the mistake.

giancarlostoro 7y ago

No, of course not. Humility doesn't mean you become completely submissive. There's a fine difference between a great engineer blurting out "THAT WILL NEVER WORK, WHAT ARE YOU EVEN SAYING!?" and... "Hey, Jim, I think that's a reasonable proposal, however, I have some concerns ..." which do you think sounds like the professional / good engineer, and which one sounds like a Junior whose ahead of themselves? I've met people who literally believe humility to be a weakness, I think a lot of people misunderstand what it means to be humble these days.

bob33212 7y ago
It is one thing to understand that you are not perfect and you could learn something from everyone and to respect your co-workers. It is another thing to be a legitimate expert and to not voice your opinion to avoid conflict. I have seen smart people who avoid direct conflict at all costs. Even if that means working on something you know is a bad idea.
- giancarlostoro 7y ago
  They do it out of fear of conflict probably, or in other cases you're so burned out you don't want to argue anymore. I've been burned out enough to where I didn't care anymore I just wanted it to be over with.
erikpukinskis 7y ago
Yeah, I do think it's a superpower to, even if you "know" something is right or wrong, to put it in the form of a question about a risk. You frame the other party as possibly having information you don't. It opens up two new good paths: 1) the other person actually having important perspective you don't, and you learning that in a civil way, and 2) the other person recognizing the problem, adapting the plan accordingly, and still feeling ownership over the plan. It also opens up a new bad path: 3) the other person being ashamed of not having this perspective and digging in on the bad plan. But if you're seeing #3 regularly, that's a job you need to quit ASAP.