Merge Conflict Digest

The Art of Doing Nothing

There is a consistent instinct in management that says action is always the answer. If a project is taking too long, we add meetings. If a developer is struggling, we hover. If the team feels disconnected, we force social rituals and events.

But lately, I’ve been thinking about the power of the opposite approach: strategic inaction.

We often assume that high performance is about endless forward momentum, but as mentioned in Lead Through Mistakes, sometimes the most "productive" thing a manager can do is force a complete stop. It’s counterintuitive to think that sending a developer home will ship code faster, but burnout can compounds with interest. You can't code your way out of exhaustion.

This logic applies to decision-making, too. The urge to micromanage usually comes from a good place, a desire to ensure quality. But it creates a bottleneck that only you can clear. As Tanveer Naseer points out, real empowerment isn't just telling people they have ownership, it's physically removing yourself from the loop so they can actually exercise it.

When you stop hovering, you clear your head. You finally have the space to find the one bottleneck that actually matters rather than becoming one yourself.

Enjoy this week's edition.

Why Forcing A Developer To Take Time Off Actually Helped

The author advises leaders to require time off early, before burnout forces exits. A personal example shows a forced break halted a team member’s decline and improved performance. Monitoring vacation usage and disengagement, and modeling balanced habits, can protect staff and retain talent.

Havana Syndrome' Device Could Finally Solve Mystery

Declassified U.S. investigators found that Havana syndrome stemmed from a covert directed‑energy device, likely a low‑frequency acoustic or microwave emitter mounted on a portable platform. The beam caused vestibular, neurological and auditory disturbances, explaining the syndrome’s mysterious symptoms and guiding future security measures.

Are Non-Western Developers Treated Differently in Careers, Hiring, OSS, and Visibility?

The study examines how a developer’s perceived race and ethnicity affect pull‑request acceptance in open‑source projects. Analyzing GitHub data with Name‑Prism, researchers find only 16 % of contributors classified as non‑White. Pull requests from perceived White developers have 6–10 % acceptance odds, while non‑White submitters fare better when reviewers share their race/ethnicity.

Stop Micromanaging: How To Empower Employees To Make Better Decisions Without You

The article argues that an empowered workforce is marked by employees confidently making decisions without constant permission. Using Goodyear director Billy Ray Taylor’s story, it shows how trust and autonomy boost initiative, accelerate problem solving and improve outcomes, and suggests leaders foster purpose, delegate authority, and view mistakes as learning.

One Bottleneck At A Time

The article criticizes leaders who chase many initiatives simultaneously, causing slow deployments, stalled hiring, and tangled code reviews. It urges using Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints: identify the current bottleneck, protect it, subordinate work, elevate capacity, then repeat to boost real throughput.

How Remote Workers Can Remain Connected To Their Colleagues

Successful remote teamwork depends on deliberate communication, purposeful relationship building, and supportive infrastructure. Teams should give clear decision context, promote active meeting participation, and foster informal virtual touchpoints such as coffee chats or book clubs. Tailored tools, timezone respect, and transparent career discussions enhance trust and productivity.