Lonely endeavours

Management can be quite lonely compared to being an IC. If I want to discuss a particular approach on code, I can pick some snippet of code I have been working on and get some feedback. That’s how PRs work. Code is presented to a couple of people that will dissect it and provide, for the most part, objective improvements. But when a tough situation between individuals is presented, it’s difficult to provide objective feedback. There are too many invisible variables and too much context. Even when our instinct is telling that something is 100% correct, it’s just our gut. Often it isn’t sustained on anything.

This is one of the reasons why external coaching for the most part is snake oil. By external coaching, I mean hiring someone that has no context about you, your team, or company, to give advice. Under these circumstances, most feedback is generic.