In his recent essay, Eugene Yan addresses a common engineering dilemma: what to do when the team you depend on cannot or will not provide assistance. His advice centers on shifting your approach from demanding help to fostering cooperation. The first step, he argues, is to seek first to understand—learn the dependency team's priorities, workload, and technical constraints so you can frame your request in terms that resonate with them.
Beyond understanding, Yan stresses the importance of earning trust. This means being transparent about your own progress, delivering on small commitments, and showing that you're not just offloading work. Trust makes the dependency team more willing to invest effort on your behalf.
Finally, Yan suggests preparing for what he calls 'away team work'—that is, being ready to dive into the other team's codebase, attend their standups, or even contribute directly to their deliverables. This proactive stance not only reduces friction but also demonstrates your commitment to the shared outcome. The advice is practical and grounded, offering a clear playbook for navigating cross-team dependencies without burning bridges.