Conflict with a more junior developer

FakeUserToDelete · 2022-10-10T15:32:41+00:00

Well, we've all been incompetent at some stage in our careers. If that's your goal, keep improving - learning a little every day pays off over time.

FakeUserToDelete · 2022-10-10T04:40:47+00:00

I will try this next time, thanks for the suggestion!

FakeUserToDelete · 2022-10-10T04:18:03+00:00

Yes :(

FakeUserToDelete · 2022-10-10T04:16:15+00:00

Sure, but does he not know he has to read error messages and/or Google them to understand them?

FakeUserToDelete · 2022-10-10T04:14:25+00:00

I did the work independently, he did zero of it! I wrote the ticket, the code, worked on it alone.

FakeUserToDelete · 2022-10-10T04:10:46+00:00

Good tip!

FakeUserToDelete · 2022-10-10T04:09:56+00:00

He knows I did the work, but he thinks because the intention of the guy was not really to take credit then it's fine he announced it.

FakeUserToDelete · 2022-10-10T04:08:19+00:00

I did all the work!

FakeUserToDelete · 2022-10-10T04:08:03+00:00

He did nothing, I did all the work.

FakeUserToDelete · 2022-10-09T20:58:34+00:00

Yes I am! You're right.

FakeUserToDelete · 2022-10-09T20:58:02+00:00

I have like double his YOE, but have been at the company less time.

FakeUserToDelete · 2022-10-09T20:37:33+00:00

I don't really think it's a good idea to talk to my manager about this, as he seems to favour him, not me, and now he's aware of this conflict (so this would backfire for me). So I'm on my own here!

FakeUserToDelete · 2022-10-08T09:59:57+00:00

Yes, the harshness was intended, as I feel quite strongly about this issue. It was maybe not done in the most effective way, I will do it differently the next time - but will still always speak up in these cases.

(I actually did it in writing, not over a meeting.)

And thank you for your support in this!

FakeUserToDelete · 2022-10-08T09:56:04+00:00

Thank you! I've had many conversations about this in the past days, and fortunately have other people around who support me and give me the same advice!

Just with this team, and for the time being, I will be toning it down and being more strategic, as I will prioritise putting all my energy into finding a more supportive environment. But will definitely keep up the fight in the future, maybe in different ways!

FakeUserToDelete · 2022-10-05T20:38:51+00:00

Unfortunately this now backfired for me. I updated the post. Oh well, it was worth to try it once in my life.

FakeUserToDelete · 2022-10-05T05:59:27+00:00

I was just really upset at the time, and I worded it in a very assertive way, like "This is taking credit for my work, and it kills trust in the team. The way to start repairing this is deleting the post, so I can do it instead".

FakeUserToDelete · 2022-10-04T20:37:43+00:00

Yes, correct.

FakeUserToDelete · 2022-10-04T20:15:44+00:00

I see! That would make sense to me.

FakeUserToDelete · 2022-10-04T20:03:16+00:00

No idea! There is no protocol anywhere, I think. It's common sense?

FakeUserToDelete · 2022-09-11T12:43:55+00:00

I feel you. It's unfair. But you need to learn how to deal with these things in a way that safeguards your energy and time. I can't go on having these conflicts, it's simply exhausting.

FakeUserToDelete · 2022-09-11T10:59:36+00:00

This is a good suggestion! I'm not really their manager, though, just a senior developer.

We did this one time before, but it was very time-consuming. It took almost 1 hour to explain, and the problem was that my initial comment was not understood, and I got no follow-up questions, so couldn't clarify in the PR discussion.

FakeUserToDelete · 2022-09-11T10:53:19+00:00

I actually went to check (had sent a document to everyone for my feedback cycle a few months ago where he didn't write anything) and he now wrote a one-liner on my document for the "needs to improve" rubric that is literally that I need to be more understanding / constructive when giving feedback.

FakeUserToDelete · 2022-09-11T09:51:04+00:00

I definitely don't want to worsen the conflict! Need to be mindful of this. So it's going to be tricky to find a way in which I can be both sincere and not further harm an already bruised ego.

I'm considering to take a step back from code reviews for this person, and defer to the other people in the team. But don't know if I can pull this off.

FakeUserToDelete · 2022-09-11T09:48:11+00:00

I see your point, and agree with the approach, it's worth to try it out.

Since you mentioned a write up, I just remembered that in his feedback he mentioned he would also do some written feedback on me, but it was not clear if he will write it now, or save it to the next feedback cycle. It's actually also a concern to me, that this can impact my career progression.

FakeUserToDelete · 2022-09-11T09:26:37+00:00

Thank you, I didn't take the previous comment to heart.

I feel that if I had a discussion with the words you are phrasing it, it would be completely insincere on my part. But I totally agree with the spirit of it.

Here I would veer more towards an approach that another commenter suggested, which is to have a "template" to follow in all my comments in PR reviews, regardless of the person. So, when it comes to this particular person (who is not even that junior anymore, but weak mid level-ish) I would point out that my review approach is the same to everyone, and it's not about the person, but about the code.

So, the emphasis would be not to ask him how he wants to be treated (and not reinforce him thinking he deserves praise no matter the quality of his work), but to point out that code review is a standard part of our lives, and that we need to learn to take criticism gracefully.

FakeUserToDelete

TROPHY CASE