Question

During a hybrid project, a project manager notices that whenever disagreements arise in team meetings, one experienced engineer consistently withdraws, stops offering opinions, and later complies silently with whatever the group decides—even when the engineer privately expresses concerns about the technical approach. The PM is worried this pattern is suppressing valuable input and creating hidden resistance. What is the BEST action for the PM to take?

Accepted Answer

Meet privately with the engineer to understand the concerns and coach the team toward a collaboration mode that surfaces differing views constructively

Answer

Accept the engineer's compliance since agreement is being reached and the team is meeting its deadlines

Answer

Publicly ask the engineer to defend their private concerns in the next meeting so the whole team can debate them

Answer

Escalate the engineer's withdrawal to the functional manager and request that a more assertive resource be assigned