As an engineering manager I’ve found that the most innovative and impactful work is usually done when the pressure of being on the critical path for delivery is absent. One way to achieve this is to do the work under the radar and only expose it more widely once it’s at a point where the benefit is easier for general management to see.

Work on the critical path is visible and that, with the fear of the personal impact of failure can drive risk aversion behaviours in those engineers involved.