I am a software developer. I was recently assigned to a new project at work and the team is all new to me. I have worked with a lot of different people and have always tried to be a good team player. There is one woman, let’s call her Sarah, who is on the team, and she constantly tries to take over the meetings.

If I am explaining a concept, she will cut me off and begin to explain the same thing. She also does not allow anyone else to talk in the meetings. It is not a collaboration, but rather a monologue. She is very knowledgeable, and I have to admit, I have learned a lot from her, but the rest of the team is getting really frustrated with her behavior.

I had a one-on-one meeting with her to discuss how the team dynamic has been suffering and how she is causing it. I asked if she could try to let others speak more, and she got really defensive. She said I was undermining her expertise and that I was clearly threatened by her.

I explained that it wasn’t about her knowledge, but more about how the team was not functioning well. She kept interrupting me and talking over me, and eventually, I just stopped speaking. I told my manager about it, and he said that she has always been like this, and that he had talked to her before.

He suggested that I just try to ignore her and keep working on my own. I feel like this is not a sustainable solution, but I also do not want to make things worse. AITA?