The honest approach can become self fulfilling. Work that might have been done faster almost never is, so it takes upside out of the equation. Setbacks don’t just stall progress for the groups immediately affected but can destabilize other groups. In an industry where shipping is a feature and timing is everything this is a real risk.
The optimistic approach can burn trust between teams and their leadership and also burn people out. It usually entails maintaining a secret schedule of expectations separate from the one shared with teams. It can make leadership look out of touch at best or exploitative at worst.
Of course this is a false dichotomy. We have to do both.
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Boz on Honesty and Optimism
