The engineering manager, Sarah, meets two of the team members, Rajesh from SW engineering, and Liam from HW engineering, to discuss integration challenges, but politeness has been preventing real issues from surfacing.

Engineering Manager Sarah:
“I want to thank you for how smoothly everything is going. I know we have challenges integrating our mechanical designs with the software, but I’m really proud of how professional everyone in the team has been.”

SW Engineer Rajesh:
“I have heard a few people in the team are unhappy about the delays with the software, but it seems there are different interpretations of ‘agile,’ depending on which legacy team you’re talking to.”

Engineering Manager Sarah:
“Okay, well let's not let that get in the way of teamwork. I don’t want to rush anyone into changing their ways. It’s important we all work together as a team.”

HW Engineer Liam:
“Rajesh is downplaying the issues to keep the peace. There are some serious concerns that are not surfacing because people don’t feel safe to raise any concerns.  I’ve had three team leads tell me they’re afraid to "offend" other groups by pushing back, especially on delivery timelines.”

Engineering Manager Sarah:
“Rajesh, is that true? Do you think there are serious concerns not being addressed?”

SW Engineer Rajesh:
“I don't want to get anyone in trouble, but we’ve missed two major project milestones because no one believed the dates were realistic or wanted to be the one to call it out. The project manager set these dates without consulting us.”

Engineering Manager Sarah:
“Okay, well let’s not be negative. I want us to be ‘one team,’ and act like it. I don't want to be the person running a low-performing team because of bickering. Let’s all work together in harmony.”

FEAR BUSTER

We want to reassure you...

We noticed ...

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We feel worried that we will continue to miss deadlines.