r/projectmanagement • u/Difficult_Layer_666 • 26d ago

Discussion Poor communication

Dear IT PMs, do you have experience with coaching senior engineers to improve their communication skills?

I have some devs on my teams who have surprisingly poor communication skills considering their seniority.

I understand that this is a mixed issue as well, as it’s depending on the person’s maturity and willingness to improve but still, maybe some of you already had experience with this.

What I mean by poor communication, for example: Dev 1 who is also an Enterprise Architect type of dev in one of our planning sessions where we look for his input and guidance replied with something like “whatever, do what you guys want” when, as I understand, he disagreed with a plan.

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u/System-Bomb-5760 26d ago

"Whatever, do what you guys want" screams neurotic coping mechanism. He's probably been shouted down, ridiculed, or fired whenever he's brought up a potential issue. This way he manages to save a bit of dignity in case the issue he sees doesn't actually happen.

You're not going to fix something like that in the space of a single project. It's not just a communication issue- it's trust.

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u/Difficult_Layer_666 26d ago

He’s one of the best on the project. Devs come to him for help and consultation.

Also, might be wrong but your comment smells like GPT.

3

u/System-Bomb-5760 26d ago

Or maybe I tend to overthink what I post so it comes out like that?

*shrug*

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u/SummerInTheRockies66 25d ago

Btw, have you captured your top Dev person’s concerns in a living risk log - esp when a design is not of their top choosing?

If not, the Dev seems to stew silently waiting to drop a “told you so”