"When collaboration isn’t possible, someone has to decide"

Last time I said that leadership means hearing all the perspectives
and finding a way forward together.

And while that’s true…
it’s not always possible.

Sometimes you hit a wall.
Two camps.
Two worldviews.
No middle ground.

Take this one, for example:

• One side believes in DevOps and continuous delivery, shipping small, safe changes every day.
• The other holds onto the old world, where Operations owns production, and Dev owns the code.
  Separate. Controlled. Protected.

To the first group, DevOps is progress.
To the second group, DevOps looks like extinction.

And when that happens, you don’t have a collaboration problem.
You have a leadership problem.

Because here’s what happens next:

Progress stalls.
Tension builds.
And the organisation starts to drift.

Real leadership means something harder.

It means listening fully.
​Understanding deeply.
And then, making the call.

Even when some people won’t like it.
Even when it feels easier to let it drift a little longer.

Because sometimes, the way forward isn’t something you find together.
It’s something you decide, and take responsibility for.

Where might you be keeping the peace at the cost of progress?

Until next time,
Dermot
​The Messy Middle

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