You know that guy—or gal—who’s locked away in their own little fortress, cranking code or building features like it’s The Great Developer Solo Show? Yeah, that’s working in a silo. And spoiler alert: it’s one of the biggest slowdowns and morale killers in any tech team. It’s not just about "doing your own thing"—it’s about how that "thing" quietly kills collaboration, innovation, and sometimes, entire projects. Let’s rip off the band-aid and get real about why working in silos is the silent death of modern software teams.

The lone silomancer

Take this one guy on my team obsessed with Kubernetes—as if sprinkling that magic container dust could fix every problem on the planet. The worst part? He never asks for feedback. Nope, he just declares his "brilliant" solutions like gospel, telling everyone else what the plan is, no debate, no discussion. Meanwhile, documentation? A hot mess. If you want to figure out what the hell is going on under the hood, good luck. This isn’t leadership; it’s barking orders from an isolated tower. And the team? We’re left scrambling, stuck not knowing what’s really running or why decisions happened behind closed doors.

When feedback feels like an attack

Heaven forbid you actually try to ask him a question or push back. Instead of opening up or hashing things out, he does a quick pivot worthy of a circus act—shifting the entire conversation like a pro escape artist. When cornered, the guy locks down tighter than Fort Knox, turning defensive like he's personally under attack. No dialogue, no debate—just stonewalling and silence. It’s like trying to reason with a brick wall covered in Kubernetes configs.

No matter how legit or necessary the feedback is, it’s taken as a slap in the face, and suddenly everyone’s walking on eggshells around him. This isn’t just annoying—it's a straight-up collaboration killer. Because when one person refuses to engage, the whole team's voice gets muffled, and progress grinds to a halt while egos play defense. That's the silent chaos these silos create—quiet, but deadly.

What real senior engineers should be

Alright, enough ranting about the lone silomancer. Let’s flip the script and talk about what real leadership in senior engineers should look like—because spoiler: it’s not isolation or control freakery.

Good senior engineers get it. They don’t just hoard knowledge—they actively share it, breaking down walls instead of building towers. They invite feedback like it’s oxygen, knowing that collaboration sparks innovation, not ego stroking. Documentation? They treat it like gospel, making sure anyone on the team can pick up where they left off without feeling lost in a maze.

Leadership is about lifting everyone up, not proving you’re the smartest. It’s about clear communication, humility, and owning mistakes instead of hiding behind complex jargon or top-down orders. Senior engineers set the pace by being the first to break silos, encouraging open dialogue, and refusing to settle for "my way or the highway." They understand that the team’s success is their success—and that means knocking down barriers one brutal conversation at a time.

So yeah, remember that Kubernetes-obsessed lone wolf I was ranting about? The guy who overengineered like it was a sport, stonewalled feedback, and left the team scrambling in his wake? Guess what—he didn’t get promoted to tech lead. I did.