Shoot The Messenger

An AntiPattern.

Problem: Nobody likes to hear bad news.

Context: Someone has discovered a problem, and has come to you to share the discovery.

Forces:

• You're already under pressure
• You do not feel in control of the situation
• You do not know how to resolve the newest problem

Solution: Yell at the person who brought the bad news

Resulting Context: The messenger learns to bury problems, and keeps future discoveries hidden. Problems are "discovered" later and later in the development process, as people develop strategic blindness to avoid being the bearer of bad news.

Rationale: You have to do something with the anger, after all, and somebody needs to be punished whenever something goes wrong.

Better solution: Blow up at the problem, and invite the messenger to help you scream. Make it clear that you see the messenger as a partner in solving the problem, not as its cause.

Examples:

• Getting angry at testers for writing too many bug reports.
• Telling developers that their estimates are too high, and demanding that the estimates be decreased, or else!
• Belittling junior developers when they tell you that they can't implement your brilliant design.
• Getting angry when a manager informs you that there has been a deviation from The Plan.
• Yelling at the people at the ticket counter when they tell you your flight is going to be late.
• Reducing the waiter's tip because the restaurant didn't have the necessary ingredients for the dish you wanted to order.
• Invoking the RemoteStrangulationProtocol

Category ManagementAntiPattern

Also known as: KillTheMessenger?, BlameTheMessenger?, VisibilityGetsYouShot