[jklp]

Yeah for sure completely agree. Tbh I didn't think too deeply about the scenarios, they were more to put context around what I meant by "fires", and how not mentioning them (which some might consider lying) is necessary sometimes to steady the ship (though if a team member asked I'd let them know what's happening).

I do think scenario #1 is interesting to talk about though.

I.e. If I was that manager receiving that news, I wouldn't outright tell the devs and say "it could be crunch time for the next 6 months", which might cause a panic and devs will start looking for other jobs.

Instead I'd call a meeting with leadership / sales, see what was sold and if there's any flexibility on deliverables with the client. If we need more resource, is it worth finding funding to hire more staff, or maybe postpone another project to get this higher priority one done.

Once that's resolved then I can think about delivering the news. Maybe it's a non issue (e.g. a new team is spun up to handle the project and someone gets a promotion to head the team), maybe it's crunch time (in that case it's time to have a difficult conversation with the team), or maybe the client is flexible on delivery (so it's business as usual).

Again, I could see how some managers would be uncomfortable not telling their team everything (and potentially cause unnecessary panic) - but I think that's part of management, knowing what level of detail your team are happy with, knowing what you can / cannot handle, and knowing how to delivery good / bad news and sometimes having to be the bad guy.

[light_hue_1]

I would add including the team once the path is clear.

What scares people is uncertainty. Not uncertainty of outcome (50% chance this will save us). It's uncertainty of what the options are, what the roadmap might be. That's the job of a good manager. Insulate the team from uncertainty and politics. Figure out the space of options, what the outcomes can be, negotiate it with leadership, and present a reasonable and clear plan to the team. That won't cause panic.

Show the team the plan, its rationale, and what needs to be done. What the upside will be. Let them take ownership of it. Let them make the lower-level decisions of how to split time, of what to prioritize, of what edges can be cut. With your feedback.

People generally don't bail when faced with a challenge. They like challenges. You just need to define the challenge clearly and set the path for overcoming it.