[electrondood]

No offense, but there's a self-centered tone to your post that makes me think you're not able to take other perspectives, or acknowledge that there may be other priorities for different parts of your organization.

"Failing to include you" is a perception. It may not be a failure. It may be intentional, either because you're technically good at your job but lack the soft skills that are also important. "Clear communication" isn't necessarily compassionate communication. It may also be unintentional, because the manager and director have other priorities, or see you as autonomous.

Bottom line, it's your responsibility to ask for what you need. Manage up.

[oceanplexian]

Counter point, I’ve worked at companies that weaponize the concept of soft skills as a way to cut down really great engineers who are high performers (I spent years at AWS learning this lesson). Even if you are strategically aligned with the leadership, customers, and the business, if you don’t play ball with elements of middle management or make them look bad you can get the axe.

My advice when you find you’re working at that kind of company? Leave. Consider becoming a founder or working at a smaller company.

Sometimes your spider sense is telling you the right thing. So many people are so hopelessly dependent on the system they will convince themselves that soft skills are more important than execution. Those folks are wrong.