> How to indulge a senior manager who wants to talk about technical stuff that they don’t really understand, without rolling your eyes or making them feel stupid
> How to explain a technical concept behind closed doors to a senior person too embarrassed to openly admit that they don’t understand it
Aren't these a bit condescending? Sure they're directed up, but it sounds "be nice when you're looking down on them".
But worse, what if, as an engineer, you've just got a blindspot? What if the manager (or any person for that matter) has a brilliant idea that _you_ don't understand and therefore think it's stupid?
My experiences with senior engineers is that they often need to learn to keep their biases in check.
> Aren't these a bit condescending? Sure they're directed up, but it sounds "be nice when you're looking down on them".
No, that's the point. It's how not to come across as condescending.
> But worse, what if, as an engineer, you've just got a blindspot? What if the manager (or any person for that matter) has a brilliant idea that _you_ don't understand and therefore think it's stupid?
I think that is covered here: "How to listen to other engineers’ ideas without feeling threatened". Just insert "manager" for "engineer".
> My experiences with senior engineers is that they often need to learn to keep their biases in check.
I'm sure there is context missing here but everyone has biases and this sounds a lot like someone feeling "threatened"...in which case, see the prior bullet point.
> How to explain a technical concept behind closed doors to a senior person too embarrassed to openly admit that they don’t understand it
Aren't these a bit condescending? Sure they're directed up, but it sounds "be nice when you're looking down on them".
But worse, what if, as an engineer, you've just got a blindspot? What if the manager (or any person for that matter) has a brilliant idea that _you_ don't understand and therefore think it's stupid?
My experiences with senior engineers is that they often need to learn to keep their biases in check.