Going Direct

The piece argues that the biggest bottleneck in modern engineering orgs is the mistaken belief that org charts dictate communication paths. When X in Team A has to route a request through multiple managers to reach Y in Team B, work stalls and morale drops. By allowing X to talk to Y directly, decisions happen faster and people feel more autonomous.\n\nThe article lays out guardrails: define decision authority, flag "one-way door" decisions that need escalation, and create a simple process for sharing decisions across the company. It shows how managers can model the behavior by holding skip-level meetings, encouraging direct asks, and publicly praising teams that resolve blockers themselves.\n\nSpecific examples illustrate the shift: instead of a vague "Can you look at the widget API?", a well-crafted message includes context, problem, and a clear ask, turning a potential bottleneck into a quick resolution. The author also warns of pitfalls-managers fearing loss of control or senior staff becoming gatekeepers-and suggests keeping managers in the details so they stay aware without re-introducing hierarchy.\n\nWhen teams adopt this direct-communication culture, they see faster delivery, reduced bottlenecks, higher trust, and more initiative, freeing managers to focus on strategic work rather than message-passing. The net result is a leaner org that moves at the speed of its engineers.