3 ms·
> Don’t make PMs hound you for information. Be proactive. When PMs do ask you for information, answer promptly and graciously At a previous consulting engageme
by cratermoon 3y ago
> Don’t make PMs hound you for information. Be proactive. When PMs do ask you for information, answer promptly and graciously
At a previous consulting engagement I ran across a rather toxic triangle involving the PM, the developers, and the manager of the developers. The PM did not report to the engineering managers, she reported up the chain elsewhere. The engineering manager made if very clear that bad news was not welcome from developers, and only the mildest concerns about risks and blockers was tolerable. Thus, the developers could not give the PM, or anyone, honest information without risking the manager's displeasure.
Which is all a long way to say: If PMs are seeing issues with communication from engineers, first eliminate the possibility that the developers are doing so because that's how they are managed.
- smcin 3y agoBuried in the article are these remarks: > As always with power balances, just be gracious. > Know that there are implicit power dynamics that should be managed graciously... > So, be a good partner... But that's assuming like you said that in the organization, developers and PMs have similar reporting chains. The OP doesn't entertain the possibility that orgs and incentive structures might differ.
- frostburg 3y ago> only the mildest concerns about risks and blockers was tolerable What kind of value did this person provide to the organization? Plausible deniability?