I would like to reflect on recent situation where a committed and skilled person worked in isolation. the engineer A is excellent BI architect and developer. When he has full control over data input he prepares great reports that makes cross-func users happy.
At a recent project in Q4 A needed inputs from another system. He needed to work with infrastructure person B and data engineer S.
I noticed that A was cc-ing me on a lot of chats and emails. At first I did not react to that, but at one point I got email asking to reprioritize tasks for S.
I understood that the collaboration was a challenge and decided to intervene. My task was to ensure that S has positive work environment and A is able to work cross functionally without engaging manager.
I reached out to S to confirm that her response quoting her current commitments is a right one. I thanked her for the support of her current projects and help she did for A. I made sure she is not feeling pressured because of high visibility reports and SVP titles that need work done by A
Then I reached to A. I previously coached him to be more collaborative, but that change does not happen overnight. I asked his permission to share the feedback with him. Once he agreed, I replayed the situation from S's point of view.
I shared that A does excellent job. However he can not be successful alone. In order to complete the project we need full buy-in from B and S. If they feel that the project is not dear to them we will not be able to support the feature in production.
I suggested that the conversation is for enabling A to grow. We both discussed and agreed that learning more BI or analytics technology will not help A to grow. He is fully on par with tech part. However to grow he needs to be able to deliver and lead larger and larger projects. That perspective ignited interest in A. I found him listening and learning.
In the short term I offered A a workaround that will be enough for practical purposes. We worked with A on long term plan:
A defined "go-to" state for the project. He shares that state with B and S. Three of them working together will decide what can be done and when.
I purposely decided not to meet with A and others in a common troubleshooting meeting. That would not be effective.
As result A used short-term approach and worked with A and S. The harmony of them working together was restored after a couple chats over 2-3 days. The project was done on track. Now A and B and S developed working relationships that no longer rely on manager in cc.
thank you
