If the alternative is that you're excluding them from all decision making and planning, then yeah, they're going to feel like code monkeys, and that sucks. Ther

If the alternative is that you're excluding them from all decision making and planning, then yeah, they're going to feel like code monkeys, and that sucks. There's a middle ground between "we have lots of meetings where all planning and decisions are made, and everyone has to be present" and "our devs don't come to any planning meetings, and we just throw all the work to them when the decisions are made". A good first step is having more asynchronous discussions.