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I have yet to be in a standup where I felt safe admitting I was blocked. The manager and project manager are there to glare at anyone who isn't "maintaining ve

by JJMcJ 6y ago

I have yet to be in a standup where I felt safe admitting I was blocked. The manager and project manager are there to glare at anyone who isn't "maintaining velocity".

nogabebop23 6y ago
People will jump down your throat: "well, you're not doing it right!" but what you're stating is a true and hard problem that's deeper than any process can address. About the only actionable advice I can offer is (a) admit to being blocked async in real time and then (b) use your standup to escalate and highlight where you are still blocked: "as I indicated in my chat/email yesterday I'm having trouble with xyz..." If even this is unacceptable you're essentially on a team where you are not comfortable or not allowed to ask for help. I'd evaluate the former to make sure it's not your fear of asking for help, and if it's the later, run. You either need to affect the change you desire or go somewhere this sort of behaviour is not tolerated. If you can't or won't push for allowing people to ask for help, either live with this disfunction or quit.
karatestomp 6y ago
I'm thinking about asking to sit (haha) in or call into a standup, next place I look at, after I have an offer but before I take it. If there's even a hint of this kind of toxic shit I'll know to run, fast. If the manager I'm talking to is like "well I guess we can arrange that, but they're usually under five minutes so there's not much to hear, and I'm not in them so I'll put you in touch with [team lead or maybe project manager] who runs them" then that'll tell me what I need to know without even bothering. I'm increasingly convinced that if you 1) have standups, and they're 2) more than the teensiest bit dysfunctional, you've probably got some badly fucked-up processes and attitudes in general. I mean it does not get simpler than a standup, so if you've decided to have them but can't get them mostly-right, then that's not a good sign. Sadly, this may describe most businesses.

by JJMcJ 6y ago

I have yet to be in a standup where I felt safe admitting I was blocked. The manager and project manager are there to glare at anyone who isn't "maintaining velocity".

nogabebop23 6y ago

People will jump down your throat: "well, you're not doing it right!" but what you're stating is a true and hard problem that's deeper than any process can address. About the only actionable advice I can offer is (a) admit to being blocked async in real time and then (b) use your standup to escalate and highlight where you are still blocked: "as I indicated in my chat/email yesterday I'm having trouble with xyz..." If even this is unacceptable you're essentially on a team where you are not comfortable or not allowed to ask for help. I'd evaluate the former to make sure it's not your fear of asking for help, and if it's the later, run. You either need to affect the change you desire or go somewhere this sort of behaviour is not tolerated. If you can't or won't push for allowing people to ask for help, either live with this disfunction or quit.

karatestomp 6y ago

I'm thinking about asking to sit (haha) in or call into a standup, next place I look at, after I have an offer but before I take it. If there's even a hint of this kind of toxic shit I'll know to run, fast. If the manager I'm talking to is like "well I guess we can arrange that, but they're usually under five minutes so there's not much to hear, and I'm not in them so I'll put you in touch with [team lead or maybe project manager] who runs them" then that'll tell me what I need to know without even bothering. I'm increasingly convinced that if you 1) have standups, and they're 2) more than the teensiest bit dysfunctional, you've probably got some badly fucked-up processes and attitudes in general. I mean it does not get simpler than a standup, so if you've decided to have them but can't get them mostly-right, then that's not a good sign. Sadly, this may describe most businesses.