‘I avoid senior developers. They challenge everything I say.’
This is how a Scrum Master described his daily struggle in our 1-1 coaching session.
I have heard this fear many times from Scrum Masters, Project Managers, and new leaders:
- Senior developers question decisions in every meeting.
- Leaders feel exposed, defensive, or technically inadequate.
- Silence slowly replaces confidence.
- Authority becomes positional, not respected.
From my experience, I have learned that this fear creates few hidden problems:
- Important risks stay unspoken until delivery fails.
- Senior developers gain informal power without accountability.
- Meetings turn into debates instead of decisions.
- Leaders stop facilitating real conversations.
I suggested a few ideas to my clients, and they worked for them.
These ideas can help you as well:
- Ask senior developers to explain impact, not just opinions.
- Set clear boundaries on behavior, not ideas.
- Respond with curiosity, not defensiveness.
- Separate technical expertise from leadership responsibility.
Remember that:
- Senior developers don’t challenge leaders.
- They challenge unclear leadership.
- When clarity increases, resistance reduces.
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