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Minneapolis, MN
I lead a team in Red Hat focused on providing context, knowledge, connection and alignment to our Product and Technologies employees, as well as working to ensure they have an inclusive, equitable, and safe environment to work and grow in. I am a late-diagnosed autistic person and I co-chair Red Hat's neurodiversity employee resource group.
Authored Comments
Hi Sandra,
Thank you for the comment. What you describe is actually the intention here - a full donation! But, yes, it is very hard if the originator remains in some way accountable. In this example, it would probably be better if I didn't even ask about how Jane was doing at all and just waited for her to come to me. Some of these questions, though, can open the door to the person seeking help or advice without it feeling like they are bringing the project back to you. It is a learning opportunity for them, which is the motivation for staying engaged. But, certainly it's possible the person wouldn't need any help at all and they would just do it. It probably depends on the complexity of the issue and the experience level of the person.
Thanks Shawn - I appreciate the feedback. I agree that the carrot and stick approach is not a good one, and I'm not trying to do that here. What I'm trying to do in the second dialog is asking where the person is to open up the opportunity for me to offer help. I find that if you ask "How would you describe where you are right now with the project?" it's just a genuine question, vs an implied deadline. That said, I also explain that asking questions like this helps me understand and I'm not doing it to get at some kind of alternate agenda. Definitely the wording could be improved!
I don't usually find any issues related to "upper management"; in my situation everyone is usually wanting to help as much as they can.