Realized I was coaching my team wrong after a skip-level meeting

Had a one-on-one with a junior dev named Mike last Tuesday. He mentioned I always start with solutions instead of letting him figure it out. Looked back at my notes from the last 6 months. 80% of my coaching was just telling people what to do. Changed my whole style after that conversation.

2 comments

2 Comments

reese_perry61mo agoMost Upvoted

That's the classic "Hey I'm helping" but really just doing the work for them trap. We've all been there, hubris kicks in and suddenly we're solving everyone's problems instead of teaching them to fish. Mike probably saved you a year of awkward team dynamics with that one honest comment. Funny how the junior devs are usually the ones who actually tell you the truth while everyone else just nods and goes along.

cora4001mo ago

Wait, hold on. Mike is a JUNIOR dev? That guy probably has like 2 years of experience max and he dropped that truth bomb on you? Man, that's actually wild. I would have been SO embarrassed if a junior had to call me out like that, but at least he had the guts to say it when nobody else would.