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Be careful with written communication

Limor Bergman Gross

Executive Coach at LBG Consulting Service Ltd

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Problem

At Digital Ocean, a large part of our team works remotely, so most of our conversation is written (via emails, Slack, etc.). A tech lead from my team used Slack to talk with another tech team about a problem he thought that the other team was responsible for. The conversation was not very constructive, and the tone of the conversation became quite tense. I was busy on something else at this time, so I didn't take part in the conversation.

"A tech lead from my team used Slack to talk with another tech team about a problem he thought that the other team was responsible for."

The manager of the other team called me and complained about the attitude of my tech lead, who was asking a lot of questions about the bug and insinuating that his team was not doing their job correctly. I heard his part of the story and then called my tech lead to hear his version. The latter told me that he was trying to get information about the bug and that nobody would answer his question. Both seemed to be honest and surprised by the tension of the conversation.

Actions taken

I had them talk together on a video call, and they were able to talk and calm the tension. I also had a chat with each of them in order to get them to understand how this could have been avoided. The manager of the other team could have defined tasks better, and my tech lead should have paid attention to using other words.

Lessons learned

As a remote team, you have to pay special attention to communication. Written conversations are useful, but are not appropriate all of the time. When communication becomes too emotional, the best thing to do is to call the person you wish to communicate with.


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Limor Bergman Gross

Executive Coach at LBG Consulting Service Ltd


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