“Leadership Unblocked” by Muriel M. Wilkins

• “Are the PRs getting bigger/smaller over time? Is this because of GitHub Copilot, or does it have other reasons? How does that impact the number of comments in the PR review? If people use AI to generate the code, does the quality and clarity of the code go up or down? Are the CI builds for the PRs failing more often with the use of GitHub Copilot?”
• “GitHub has created the Engineering System Success Playbook (ESSP). It is a three‑step process that can help you drive meaningful, measurable improvements in your organization, whether you’re looking to adopt a new AI tool such as GitHub Copilot or identify and unlock bottlenecks that have been hindering performance. You can find the ESSP here: https://resources.github.com/engineering-system-success-playbook.”
• “What worked better for us was talking about “AI etiquette” as a team. Decide how much context you want to leave in comments, how you validate generated tests, and when to use chat versus inline prompts. Just like coding standards, these agreements make collaboration smoother and help everyone get consistent value from GitHub Copilot. Document these agreements in the custom instructions file so that everyone, including GitHub Copilot, has the same context when making changes to the code base.”
• “We’ve always been DevOps‑minded, and we firmly believe in having the basic principles in place: Automated pipelines and testing that validate every change, to prevent unwanted side effects of those changes. Treating everything as code or configuration to ensure consistency and reliability in deployments. For example, infrastructure should be codified so it can be recreated with the same outcome every time. If your environments have different settings, those differences should be captured in code. This approach allows you to manage variations explicitly and ensures that deployments remain predictable and trustworthy. Having the more eyes principle in place, where every change is reviewed by someone else – this helps to prevent unintended side effects and trusting in the ideas of a single person. Enough testing in place to have trust – if a deployment fails for any reason, a new test should be added to the pipeline to prevent it from happening again. Continuous monitoring and feedback loops.”
• “We’ve observed that successful teams consistently dedicate around 10% of each sprint to addressing technical debt. By making this a regular part of their workflow, they ensure that improvements and refactoring are never neglected.”
• “In the words of writer and therapist Prentis Hemphill, “Boundaries are the distance at which I can love you and me simultaneously.”8 In other words, you can have boundaries that serve you and the other even if it means not doing as they asked.”
• “From Blocked I can’t say no. I have to say yes. I can’t turn them down. No one else can do it but me. I’m the wrong choice for this role. If I don’t do it, no one will. I don’t want to burden anyone. To Unblocked I can say no to some things. I can say no and still be supportive. I am allowed to consider my needs and priorities before making commitments to others. I will agree to do things that align with my goals and values, not to gain the acceptance of others. To Action Pause before responding to requests. Assess your availability and priorities before agreeing, which prevents automatic yesses. Make sure you aren’t saying yes out of guilt, fear, or conflict aversion. Prepare and practice polite, direct ways to say no. Having phrases ready, like “I’m unable to commit right now” or “I have to prioritize my current obligations,” can make it easier to decline. Clearly but kindly explain your limits without over‑apologizing or justifying, reinforcing that your boundaries are valid.”
• “Potential Costs of This Hidden Blocker Exhaustion and eventual burnout: As leaders take on more, others assume they’re capable of extra and rely on them to do more. A vicious cycle ensues, putting leaders at risk for exhaustion, overwork, and eventually, burnout, as they’re never able to recover from work‑related stress. Exploitation: There is evidence that workers who’ve made a habit of saying yes are at risk for being taken advantage of. Research from Duke University shows that passionate employees “are more likely to get asked to do unpaid work, work on the weekends, and handle tasks that are not a part of their roles. This tendency springs from two beliefs: that passionate employees would have volunteered to do the extra work anyway, and that extra work is its own reward for someone who loves their job.” Lack of advancement: Saying yes indiscriminately and becoming overcommitted means leaders lose the capacity to invest in opportunities to position themselves for advancement. Spread too thin, critical advancement factors such as strategic thinking, cultivating relationships with key stakeholders, or building an external‑facing presence fall by the wayside.”
• “Signs You May Have This Hidden Blocker What you may see and feel You say yes even though your inner voice says, “There’s no way I can take on another thing.” You have a genuine desire to help others. You go out of your way to make sure they don’t have to carry the burden of extra work. You say yes to things to avoid the discomfort of saying no. Even the thought of saying no causes you mental or physical distress (excessive worry, guilt, shame, a knot in your stomach, tightness in your chest, and so on). You avoid upsetting or disappointing others, even if it’s at your own expense. You procrastinate on responding or avoid someone because you don’t want to turn them down. You overthink whether or how to say no. What others may see and feel You are the go‑to person to get things done. You are selfless, tireless, one who will take one for the team, and always willing to help. You rarely, if ever, question or decline a request to do something. You are a doer but not necessarily a leader.”
• “From Blocked I know I’m right. I have all the right answers. I know more than anyone else here. I’m always right. I know exactly what I’m talking about here. I wouldn’t say I wasn’t sure. They should trust me given my track record. I’m absolutely certain about this. I’m never wrong about these things. To Unblocked My role is to help others find solutions, not always give them the answer. Asking the right questions is just as important as offering the correct answer. I gain commitment by asking for solutions rather than compliance by telling them what to do. My solution is not always the only solution. I’m confident in my ideas, yet I’m open to other perspectives. To Action Make room for others. Refrain from always being the first to speak. Engage in active listening without interrupting. Focus fully on what others are saying to understand their point of view before responding. Use WAIT (Why Am I Talking?) before speaking to determine if your participation is necessary. Share your reasoning and invite feedback. Provide context, explain how you arrived at your conclusion, and welcome input to help identify areas for further consideration. Ask open‑ended questions. Use questions like “What do you think?” or “How do you see it?” to invite others’ input.”
• “Potential Costs of This Hidden Blocker Impaired decision‑making: Leaders who insist on their point of view may miss out on seeing a range of viable answers or an innovative solution. By limiting or preventing others’ participation, they risk making decisions prematurely. Alienated stakeholders: An unwillingness to hear others’ ideas and opinions makes peers and team members feel devalued, disrespected, and excluded. Rather than feeling brought along, they feel pushed along. Damage to team morale: Team members who aren’t listened to or included in decision‑making and problem‑solving suffer from disengagement, low motivation, and lack of buy‑in. A culture of learned helplessness: If a leader establishes a pattern of swooping in and providing the answers, team members become overly reliant on them and don’t grow and develop. Stunted self‑development: Leaders who are convinced they know everything also don’t grow and improve, because they don’t think they need to.”
• “From Blocked I need it done now. We need to finish this at all costs. I can’t let up until everything is done. This has to be wrapped up as soon as possible. My value is determined by how much I accomplish. If I’m not busy, I’m falling behind. My success is determined by my productivity. There’s always more I could be doing. Other people are doing more than I am. To Unblocked My to‑do list is not the measure of success. I will do my best to complete the work in the time that I have. My success is not solely defined by my productivity. I need to focus on what truly matters. My value goes beyond what I accomplish. Just because I’m busy doesn’t always mean I’m productive. To Action Set realistic expectations. Build limits around your work based on what can get done in the time you have. Triage your tasks. Prioritize tasks based on their impact, focusing on what truly matters rather than busy work. For the rest, delegate, delay, or let go accordingly. Focus on outcomes. Track how you spend your time to identify low‑value tasks that can be reduced or eliminated. Recharge. Block off time to decompress and recharge.”
• “From Blocked I can’t make a mistake. I have to get everything right. Anything less than perfection is unacceptable. I can’t allow anything to slip through the cracks. I have to be certain before moving forward. There’s no room for error in what I do. Mistakes are unacceptable in this environment. If I make a mistake, it could ruin everything. Getting it wrong isn’t an option for me. I can’t afford to mess up. To Unblocked My focus is excellence, not avoiding failure. Mistakes are not failures. Imperfect action can be better than no action. Not all mistakes are equal. I don’t have to be perfect to be successful. Even if I make a mistake, I can handle the outcome. Perfection isn’t required for good results. I can still contribute and add value, even if I don’t get it right every time.”
• “Potential Costs of This Hidden Blocker Exhaustion and eventual burnout: Leaders and team members who feel they need to be available and ready to respond at any moment suffer from unrelenting stress and overwork. Emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion can result from chronic overwork and insufficient rest and sleep, and unmanaged work‑related stress leads to burnout. Unclear priorities and decreased productivity: In this paradoxical outcome, productivity and performance can falter due to overwork and exhaustion, or because leaders have trouble identifying priority items that move the needle. Their strong bias to action leads them to treat everything with equal urgency, and every new task or problem must be dealt with ASAP. Team members are left scrambling to keep up, constantly shifting gears to address the latest mandate from the leader. Older action items can get lost in the shuffle as the leader quickly moves to whatever is in front of them. Division between team members: Favoritism can easily set in as the leader with this hidden blocker consciously or unconsciously recognizes team members who have the same bias to action they do. This can also foster an overly competitive workplace culture where team members feel that if they unplug or let up, someone else will do more and get ahead or gain favor. Loss of key team members: In an effort to distance themselves from their work‑related stress, overworked team members are at risk for disengagement, increased absenteeism, and quiet quitting or actual quitting. Harm to relationships outside of work: Leaders with this hidden blocker place higher priority on task completion than on people. This can have an impact on their personal relationships with partners, children, and friends as work takes precedence over connecting and spending time with loved ones outside of work.”
• “From Blocked I need to be involved. I have to sweat all the details. I need to know what’s happening. I need to be directly involved for things to go smoothly. I need to be in the loop on everything to ensure things go well. If I don’t keep everyone on track, things won’t get done. To Unblocked I need to focus my involvement where I add the most value. I can do anything, but I can’t do everything. The same level of involvement is not required for everything. I should get involved according to the level of opportunity and risk at hand. My level of involvement is determined by the unique value I bring to a situation. I don’t need to oversee everything to contribute meaningfully. To Action Delegate tasks. Assign responsibilities, building confidence in others and allowing you to focus on key areas. Set clear priorities. Identify which areas need your involvement and which can be managed by others. Schedule regular check‑ins instead of constant oversight. Establish a structure for periodic updates rather than close monitoring. Reflect on successes achieved without your involvement. Remind yourself of the positive outcomes, reinforcing trust and reducing the need for control. Recognize others’ contributions to foster mutual rapport.”
• “Potential Costs of This Hidden Blocker Inability to fulfill your mandate: Getting overly involved in others’ work means leaders may underdeliver in areas where only they can add value—things like setting a vision, driving strategy, and influencing across the organization. Inability to scale: Being involved at so many levels and in so many things makes it impossible to keep up and undermines the opportunity to demonstrate leadership skills. When this happens, it’s easy to be overlooked for opportunities to move up or take on more. Lack of responsiveness: Being overcommitted and unavailable means teams, clients, customers, or other stakeholders may not receive timely responses. Teams suffer: When leaders are overly involved in others’ work, it deprives team members of the opportunity to own anything or to learn, grow, and develop new skills, and some end up leaving. Left out of the loop: Frustrated and slowed down by their need to weigh in on everything, some colleagues, especially peers, choose to circumvent leaders as part of the process, resulting in the very thing these leaders are trying to avoid—not being involved.”
• “Signs You May Have This Hidden Blocker What you may see and feel You expect team members at all levels to keep you updated and in the loop, and become frustrated when they don’t. You want to review and weigh in on deliverables and action items before they are completed. You laser in on the details, even when they’re not in your area or they’re someone else’s responsibility. You feel resentment that so much is on your plate and you have no time. What others may see and feel You have the reputation of being a micromanager. You take the lead in meetings even when others are supposed to. You accept most meeting requests, even if you’re already overcommitted. You insist on being included on every email. You won’t let things proceed or won’t sign off on deliverables until you weigh in. You are hard to get a hold of because you’re so busy.”
• “Potential Costs of This Hidden Blocker Inability to fulfill your mandate: Getting overly involved in others’ work means leaders may underdeliver in areas where only they can add value—things like setting a vision, driving strategy, and influencing across the organization. Inability to scale: Being involved at so many levels and in so many things makes it impossible to keep up and undermines the opportunity to demonstrate leadership skills. When this happens, it’s easy to be overlooked for opportunities to move up or take on more. Lack of responsiveness: Being overcommitted and unavailable means teams, clients, customers, or other stakeholders may not receive timely responses. Teams suffer: When leaders are overly involved in others’ work, it deprives team members of the opportunity to own anything or to learn, grow, and develop new skills, and some end up leaving. Left out of the loop: Frustrated and slowed down by their need to weigh in on everything, some colleagues, especially peers, choose to circumvent leaders as part of the process, resulting in the very thing these leaders are trying to avoid—not being involved.”
• “Potential Costs of This Hidden Blocker Exhaustion and eventual burnout: Leaders and team members who feel they need to be available and ready to respond at any moment suffer from unrelenting stress and overwork. Emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion can result from chronic overwork and insufficient rest and sleep, and unmanaged work‑related stress leads to burnout. Unclear priorities and decreased productivity: In this paradoxical outcome, productivity and performance can falter due to overwork and exhaustion, or because leaders have trouble identifying priority items that move the needle. Their strong bias to action leads them to treat everything with equal urgency, and every new task or problem must be dealt with ASAP. Team members are left scrambling to keep up, constantly shifting gears to address the latest mandate from the leader. Older action items can get lost in the shuffle as the leader quickly moves to whatever is in front of them. Division between team members: Favoritism can easily set in as the leader with this hidden blocker consciously or unconsciously recognizes team members who have the same bias to action they do. This can also foster an overly competitive workplace culture where team members feel that if they unplug or let up, someone else will do more and get ahead or gain favor. Loss of key team members: In an effort to distance themselves from their work‑related stress, overworked team members are at risk for disengagement, increased absenteeism, and quiet quitting or actual quitting. Harm to relationships outside of work: Leaders with this hidden blocker place higher priority on task completion than on people. This can have an impact on their personal relationships with partners, children, and friends as work takes precedence over connecting and spending time with loved ones outside of work.”