Blog for Engineering Managers

Blog for Engineering Managers

Your two senior engineers disagree on everything

What would you do?

Stephane Moreau's avatar
Stephane Moreau
Apr 06, 2025
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It’s Tuesday and you’re already tired.

You get a message from Sarah, one of your senior engineers:

“Hey, just FYI, I’m not attending today’s refinement. I’ve already shared my thoughts, and honestly, I don’t think they’re being heard.”

You already know what this is about. Sarah and Mike, your two most experienced people, disagree again.

Every decision turns into a battle. Code style. Architecture. Tools. Naming conventions. They agree on nothing.

You’ve talked to them about it in 1-1s but nothing seems to change.

Your team’s output has slowed. And now you’re stuck.

What would you do?

Outline

- 🔒 What are your options?
- 🔒 Breaking down each approach
- 🔒 What I would do in this situation
- 🔒 How to avoid the decision backfiring
- 🔒 Takeaways
- 🔒 Some useful links from me


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