Audience Recognition and Conflict Resolution for Business Analysts

Audience Recogni,on and Conflict Resolu,on

The Analyst Coach, LLC

© 2014 The Analyst Coach, LLC

Ge>ng to Know Your Audience

•  You will never speak or write in a vacuum. •  When you create a document, lead a requirements session, give a presenta,on, communicate with subject maLer experts (SMEs), you need to consider the following ques,ons.


1.  Who is your audience? 2.  What do they know (expect there to be different levels of

knowledge in the audience)? 3.  What do they not know? 4.  What do you need to say or write for your audience to

understand your point? 5.  How do you communicate to a mul,-‐level audience? 6.  What is each person’s posi,on in rela,on to your job ,tle? Are

you speaking to peers, your manager, the execu,ve team, etc.? 7.  What is the audience’s a>tude toward the topic? 8.  Do you have SMEs that aren’t interested in the project? 9.  Do you have SMEs that already understand the vision and are

dying to jump in and get started? 10.  What diversity issues do you need to consider? Cultural? Gender? 11.  Loca,on (in person or on the phone).


•  Make sure your message does not include jargon or acronyms that some of the audience may not understand.

•  To communicate successfully, you have to be able to recognize your audience’s level of understanding.

•  You also need to consider your audience’s unique personality and traits, which could impact how successful your communica,ons are.


Knowledge of Subject MaLer Experts (SMEs)

•  What does your audience know of the subject maLer? •  In a requirements session, do you have SMEs that know different areas of the business instead of one SME that knows the en,re business process from end to end?

•  Does the audience work closely with the subject at hand? Are they an expert on the subject (SME)?

•  Does the audience have general knowledge of the subject maLer but a different area of exper,se? Is the audience totally uninvolved with the subject maLer?


Audience Personality Traits

•  By considering personality traits, you can speak using the appropriate tone, visual aids, and wri,ng style for your documenta,on. By recognizing the audience’s personality traits, you can more effec,vely get the desired response from the audience.


Do you know any of these things about some of your audience?

•  Are they slow to act? •  Eager? •  Ques,oning? •  Organized? •  Disorganized? •  Opposi,onal? •  Are they nega,ve or posi,ve? •  Are they noncommiLal? •  Do they prefer you to be short and to the point? •  What are you expec,ng from your audience? •  Are you expec,ng them to provide business requirements? •  Do you want them to consider an idea and make sugges,ons? •  Do you want them to reject some op,ons? In other words, make a choice between

two or more sugges,ons? •  Are you just expec,ng them to listen and/or read and “file” the informa,on for

future use?


To get what you want from your audience, taking personality traits into considera,on will help you get it.


Biased Language – Issues of Diversity

Your audience is never composed of people just like you. To be clear, diversity includes gender, race/ethnicity, religion, age, sexual orienta,on, class, physical and mental characteris,cs, language, family issues, and department diversity.


Things to keep in mind when you are working on a project with a mul,cultural team that spans different countries: –  Verbal and nonverbal communica,on norms for those countries and cultures

– Management styles –  Decision-‐making procedures –  Sense of ,me and place –  Local values, beliefs, and a>tudes

Due to the mul,cultural makeup of your audience, you must ensure that your wri,ng, speaking, and nonverbal communica,on skills accommodate language barriers and cultural customs.


Conflict Resolu,on

In many cases, conflict in the workplace just seems to be a fact of life. We've all seen situa,ons where different people with different goals and needs have come into conflict. And we've all seen the onen-‐intense personal animosity that can result.


Unexpected Benefits of Conflict

–  Increased understanding: The discussion needed to resolve conflict expands people's awareness of the situa,on, giving them an insight into how they can achieve their own goals without undermining those of other people.

–  Increased group cohesion: When conflict is resolved effec,vely, team members can develop stronger mutual respect and a renewed faith in their ability to work together.


Unexpected Benefits of Conflict, Cont.

–  Improved self-‐knowledge: Conflict pushes individuals to examine their goals in close detail, helping them understand the things that are most important to them, sharpening their focus, and enhancing their effec,veness.


What happens when conflict takes hold?

If conflict is not handled effec,vely, the results can be damaging. Conflic,ng goals can quickly turn into personal dislike. Teamwork breaks down. Talent is wasted as people disengage from their work. It is easy to end up in a vicious downward spiral of nega,vity and recrimina,on.


Conflict Resolu,on Styles

There are five main styles of dealing with conflict. 1.   Compe((ve 2.   Collabora(ve 3.   Compromising 4.   Accommoda(ng 5.   Avoiding


Compe((ve

People who tend towards a compe,,ve style take a firm stand, and know what they want. They usually operate from a posi,on of power, drawn from things like posi,on, rank, exper,se, or persuasive ability. This style can be useful when there is an emergency and a decision needs to be make fast; when the decision is unpopular; or when defending against someone who is trying to exploit the situa,on selfishly. However, it can leave people feeling bruised, unsa,sfied and resenqul when used in less urgent situa,ons.


Collabora(ve

People tending towards a collabora,ve style try to meet the needs of all people involved. These people can be highly asser,ve but unlike the compe,tor, they cooperate effec,vely and acknowledge that everyone is important. This style is useful when you need to bring together a variety of viewpoints to get the best solu,on; when there have been previous conflicts in the group; or when the situa,on is too important for a simple trade-‐off


Compromising

People who prefer a compromising style try to find a solu,on that will at least par,ally sa,sfy everyone. Everyone is expected to give up something and the compromiser, him-‐ or herself, also expects to relinquish something. Compromise is useful when the cost of conflict is higher than the cost of losing ground, when equal strength opponents are at a stands,ll, and when there is a deadline looming.


Accommoda(ng This style indicates a willingness to meet the needs of others at the expense of the person's own needs. The accommodator onen knows when to give in to others, but can be persuaded to surrender a posi,on even when it is not warranted. This person is not asser,ve but is highly coopera,ve. Accommoda,on is appropriate when the issues maLer more to the other party, when peace is more valuable than winning, or when you want to be in a posi,on to collect on this "favor" you gave. However, people may not return favors, and overall this approach is unlikely to give the best outcomes.


Avoiding

People tending towards this style seek to evade the conflict en,rely. This style is typified by delega,ng controversial decisions, accep,ng default decisions, and not wan,ng to hurt anyone's feelings. It can be appropriate when victory is impossible, when the controversy is trivial, or when someone else is in a beLer posi,on to solve the problem. However in many situa,ons this is a weak and ineffec,ve approach to take.


What’s Your Style?

•  Once you understand the different styles, you can use them to think about the most appropriate approach (or mixture of approaches) for the situa,on you're in.

•  Think about your own ins,nc,ve approach. Which conflict style are you?


Interest-‐Based Rela,onal Approach

•  This type of conflict resolu,on respects individual differences while helping people avoid becoming too entrenched in a fixed posi,on.

•  When you’re using this approach to resolve conflict, you follow these rules:


•  Make sure that good rela,onships are the first priority: As far as possible, make sure that you treat the other calmly and that you try to build mutual respect. Do your best to be courteous to one-‐another and remain construc,ve under pressure.

•  Keep people and problems separate: Recognize that in many cases the other person is not just "being difficult" – real and valid differences can lie behind conflic,ve posi,ons. By separa,ng the problem from the person, real issues can be debated without damaging working rela,onships.

•  Pay aLen,on to the interests that are being presented: By listening carefully you will most likely understand why the person is adop,ng his or her posi,on.


•  Listen first; talk second: To solve a problem effec,vely you have to understand where the other person is coming from before defending your own posi,on.

•  Set out the "Facts": Agree and establish the objec,ve, observable elements that will have an impact on the decision.

•  Explore op,ons together: Be open to the idea that a third posi,on may exist, and that you can get to this idea jointly.


Conflict Resolu(on Process

A star,ng point for dealing with conflict is to iden,fy the overriding conflict style employed by yourself, your team or your organiza,on. Over ,me, people's conflict management styles tend to mesh, and a "right" way to solve conflict emerges.


ü Look at the circumstances, and think about the style that may be appropriate.

ü If you are involved in the conflict, emphasize the fact that you’re presen,ng your percep,on of the problem.

ü  Use ac,ve listening skills to ensure you hear and understand other's posi,ons and percep,ons. – Restate. – Paraphrase. – Summarize.


Be sure to focus on work issues and leave personali,es out of the discussion. – Listen with empathy and see the conflict from the other person's point of view.

–  Iden,fy issues clearly and concisely. – Use "I" statements, don’t use “you” statements. – Remain flexible.


Making it Fair

Onen different underlying needs, interests and goals can cause people to perceive problems very differently. You will need to agree on the problem that you’re trying to solve before you will find a mutually acceptable solu,on. If everyone is going to feel sa,sfied with the resolu,on, it will help if everyone has fair input in genera,ng solu,ons. Brainstorm possible solu,ons, and be open to all ideas, including ones you never considered before.


Nego,a,ng Solu,ons •  By this stage, the conflict may be resolved: Both sides may beLer understand the posi,on of the other, and a mutually sa,sfactory solu,on may be clear to all.

•  There are three guiding principles here: –  Be Calm –  Be Pa,ent – Have Respect

² Remember that conflict in the workplace can be incredibly destruc,ve to good teamwork.


Handling Nega,ve Stakeholders

If you’re shy or take longer to bond with people, it does not mean you cannot be a good BA, it just means you need to recognize these things about yourself and ask the stakeholder ques,ons and keep asking ques,ons un,l the source of their nega,vity surfaces. Ask with genuine interest and don’t come across as defensive; that will make them shutdown and stop contribu,ng to the discussion.


To succeed in turning nega,ve stakeholders around, try using the following ,ps. •  Try turning the nega,ve into a posi,ve. •  You've got to be a people person. •  Use empathy, and offer assistance aner tapping into their fear.

•  Be able to step outside of your comfort zone when you’re in requirements sessions.

•  Use open-‐ended ques,ons to dig deeper. •  Do not make promises to stakeholders that "we will be able to solve their problem" just to appease them.


•  When have you handled nega,ve stakeholders?

•  What will you do differently now that you have these ,ps?


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