Why this conversation
The first one-on-one with a passed-over senior decides the next year. The winning move is not authority and not flattery; it is naming the situation plainly, asking for a specific kind of help, and giving something real in return.
Dialogue
Jay: Thanks for making time. I want to start with the obvious thing rather than pretend it isn't there: you've been here nine years, you went for this role, and they gave it to someone from outside. I'd understand if that's frustrating.
Fiona: It was. I've moved on. Mostly.
Jay: Fair. I'm not going to ask you to be happy about it. What I'd like to ask is something narrower: for the next three months, would you be the person who tells me when I'm about to break something? Not in the meeting. Before the meeting.
Fiona: That's a lot of unpaid consulting.
Jay: It is, so here's my side. Two things. First, the settlement redesign everyone's been putting off: I'd like you to own the design, and I'll get you the two engineers and the quarter to do it. Second, when I give my first architecture presentation to the CTO next month, I'll say that the reconciliation system that got us through the audit was yours, because it was.
Fiona: You read the audit report.
Jay: And the commit history. Look, I'm going to make decisions you disagree with. When I do, I want to hear it directly from you, and I'll tell you what I decided and why, even when the answer is no. What I can't work with is finding out in a hallway.
Fiona: All right. First thing, then: the deploy plan you sent yesterday runs migrations during the Bacs window. Don't.
Jay: That's exactly what I meant. Walk me through it.
Key expressions
| Expression | 뜻 · 쓰이는 자리 |
|---|---|
| the obvious thing | 뻔한 것, 모두 아는 것 |
| passed over for a role | 자리에서 밀리다 |
| I'd understand if that's frustrating | 답답하셔도 이해한다 |
| mostly | 대체로 |
| something narrower | 더 좁은 것 |
| unpaid consulting | 무급 컨설팅 |
| here's my side | 내 쪽 이야기는 이렇다 |
| everyone's been putting off | 모두가 미뤄온 |
| I can't work with | 같이 일할 수 없는 것 |
| finding out in a hallway | 복도에서 알게 되다 |
| walk me through it | 차근차근 설명해 달라 |