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Does anyone have experience with bad engineering coaches?

We have a new guy who came in to my team as a coach, and it has made my work life so much more stressful.

It’s hard to put my finger on what is wrong, but this guy seems to lack a bit of perspective on his role at the company.

He is not a manager — he does not have any formal power — yet talks as if he were in charge of the team.

This goes from changing the way we do stand up, to inserting himself into any technical discussion going on in the office. It has gotten to the point where I will hold technical discussions in other parts of the office to avoid him.

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  • 1
    Maybe I am misunderstanding what ‘coaching’ means. But I discussed with my manager before the coach was hired, and he assured me that we were not hiring a manager.

    At the very least I should be able to ask this person to leave me alone? My stress level is through the roof.
  • 1
    I don’t want to start a conflict in the office. But at the same time, I cannot just stand for some pseudo-manager usurping power in his first weeks.

    In the meantime, I’m working in another part of the office to avoid the situation brewing. But longterm, this is not a good solution. I also realize it’s immature.

    I should probably talk to my manager about it. But I fear that we will not understand and then I have made the situation worse.
  • 3
    @mellowmymind Talk to your manager. Communication is really important.
    The way I see it - you can learn from everybody. Sometimes - how to do things, other times (and as important) - how *not* to do things.

    just 2 cents from a guy who inserts himself into tech discussions *all the time*.
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