Make The Vampires Feel Welcome

One of the best articles I’ve read in a long time, and it’s refreshing to see that it comes from a C-level executive. It resonates deeply.

Too often, people working in technical fields have to fight against an ingrained tendency to create internal divisions. Whether intentional or not, this segregation distances those who build from those who strategise and reinforces an unhealthy separation.

Perhaps it stems from the fact that not many understand the language engineers speak. As a result, technical teams are frequently perceived as outsiders, mere executors of someone else’s ideas rather than valuable contributors to the business vision.

I’ve worked in places where this divide was not only present but made worse by product managers who consistently downplayed the value of the team in business discussions and deliberately excluded them. The mindset seemed to be, “Let the engineers code, the rest of us will handle the big picture.”

In a more toxic environment, I’ve even heard product managers tell my team, “I couldn’t understand the problem when you were in the room, but I got everything when I was talking alone with the expert.” This kind of rhetoric does more than insult. It actively erodes trust and collaboration.

And then there were the literal barriers. In that same place, engineers were physically prevented from accessing the upper floor where top managers worked. If we wanted to go there, we had to take the stairs. Lifts (or elevators for my American friends) were restricted. I had to request special access from the office manager because of my bad knee.

This was a stark reminder of the metaphorical and physical obstacles put in place to separate those who think from those who build.

Make the vampires feel welcome.

Originally posted on LinkedIn.