Communicating Effectively As A Tech Lead

Communicating Effectively as a Technical Lead: here are my tips for how to talk to teams and stakeholders. Available in more detail in my new article on LeadDev: https://leaddev.com/communication-relationships/tech-leads-guide-effective-communication

Transcript

1. Communicating Effectively As A Tech Lead Addy Osmani
2. Simplify Optimize for your audience. • Adapt to the situation & context. • This may mean avoiding using team- specific jargon or making assumptions about context. • Remember, it’s possible that acronyms may not be well-socialized even within a team.
3. Simplify Try simplifying technical terms and concepts using metaphors or analogies where appropriate. • Aim to bring all of your audience along even if they aren’t fully familiar with the same terms. • Aim to not leave anyone behind
4. Be concise and on point • Shorter messages are more likely to be absorbed in their entirety. • Avoid discussing caveats and edge-case exceptions if they are irrelevant to that audience. • Don’t stray from the core point of the message.
5. Be concise and on point • Mentally check if it's the right audience, forum, and time of the day before bringing up something different. • Avoid filler words: 'basically', 'you know', 'like', 'kind of', 'huh', '...and stuff', '..and things like that'.
6. Communicating with executives …to successfully motivate action, understand their process: • Vision: Do teams know where they’re going and how to get there? • Alignment: Do I agree with the direction? Is it based on data? • Ability: Can they execute? Do they see the issues? Is there progress? • Cost + Empowerment: What do they need to be successful?
7. Communicating with executives Structure your communication • Start with the answer first • Group and summarize your supporting arguments • Logically structure your writing
8. Listen • Listen attentively! Understand, reflect, and then respond to what’s being said. • Observe verbal and non-verbal messages and signals before responding. Listen to what people are really saying and adjust your tone and response accordingly.
9. Listen • Be attentive and open to feedback in 1:1 discussions and team meetings. • When conversing with senior colleagues or stakeholders, hear what they are saying, if only to confirm that they’ve absorbed whatever you shared.
10. Listen • When team members share their ideas, listen and ask questions to encourage them. Replace a straight 'No' with a 'Yes, but' if possible. • When it comes to written communication, reading is equivalent to listening. Read very carefully and re-read until you've fully grasped what was communicated.
11. Be proactive • Initiate open communication with your team members. • Have regular 1:1s and drop them an email or a Slack/Chat message (being mindful about disrupting their focus/ flow). • Promote healthy intra-team communication. Create an atmosphere of asking and answering questions politely.
12. Be proactive • Regularly check that your team members aren’t blocked on delegated tasks and can handle them properly. • Reach out only when you're sure that your presence won't be a distraction. • If your team member has a ‘do- not-disturb’ sign, then respect that if possible.
13. Be thorough • Be diligent and pay attention to the little things. • In coaching, mentoring, and advocating scenarios, understand the needs of your mentees or audience, and document those needs as action items. • When mentoring, try to understand what works for your mentee.
14. Be thorough • Ensure everyone you're communicating with is on the same page. • Don't be in a hurry to leave a meeting or end a 1:1 if you feel that someone is lagging. • Encourage repetition and question- answer sessions to ensure that everyone has understood.
15. Document • Take notes – just for yourself or for others. Notes can help you remember tidbits of information you wish to convey but may forget. • If your writing aims to help others learn, then document as legibly and concisely as possible. • Include the date you created the document to help future readers estimate its relevance.
16. Learn more bit.ly/effective-comms-tl