No one likes surprises - especially in big meetings. Taking a few minutes to prep folks with an email / slack / call ahead of time can save a LOT of pain down the road.
All tagged communication
Keeping up awareness
Ensuring all parts of a project are up to date on whats going on is hard. There are a number of tricks that can help this though.
Metrics Storytelling
Sometimes we don’t get the progress metrics we want. In these cases we need to see how we can tell a story around what we DO have.
On taking notes
Taking notes, especially during meetings, is a VERY easy way to create value, and help save your future self from potential challenges.
No Update Updates
Sometimes we don’t have anything to report on how things are going… this, however, is (oddly) important to report! Letting folks know you’re still on it is just as important as having progress for them.
The Importance of Triage
Triage is an important part of ticketing. Sure, it takes some time and effort, but it helps ensure basic information is available and the best resource is assigned to the task.
Raising Issues Early
When we know something’s off it’s REALLY important we let folks know, and you can’t really loop them in soon enough..
The Utility of Feedback
Feedback of some form is required for us to improve. Good feedback needs to be both timely and specific, otherwise some of that great utility is lost.
We’re human first
It’s very easy to forget that our coworkers are people too. Odd as it sounds, keeping in mind everyone is human first is incredibly important to building strong relationships.
"Its broken"
Having a solid relationship in place before something goes wrong is incredibly important to helping folks navigate challenges.
"I had to give" someone feedback
Feedback is can be hard to give or accept. It requires a culture that is open to providing and receiving it, and an open mind set that everyone can do better.
Speaking up when you find something
From time to time we’ll find something wrong in the systems we support. While dealing with it is important, spreading the word is also critical to success. Sure, it might be nothing, but it could also be a lot worse, and you’ll want folks ready to help.
Order Pushing
Non-technical partners need to be careful to partner with their tech teams… many times they end up just sending orders to their technical partners. This not only results in a weaker relationship, but many times results in a weaker end product.
On Proactivity
When we discover a problem or error the first thing we should do is let others know. This not only gets more eyes on the problem, but helps avoid others being surprised and escalating the problem.
Don't play telephone
Telephone is a great game to play as kids, but playing it at work presents a whole host of challenges. Cutting out the folks in the middle and finding the source of the request is critical, as is your followup.
Being better at technical communication
Communication is a challenging skill to learn that is only made more complex when attempting to communicate about technical topics. Making time to understand how to better technically communicate is a critical skill, especially as more and more folks end up in these fields.
Planning to (not) Fail
Planning is something we should be doing on a daily basis. Time taken to plan helps us focus our thoughts, helps avoid pitfalls, errors and mistakes later, and even makes us look good.
Bring Solutions
Bringing solutions is always better than just bringing problems. It’s great to find things that need fixing. Do yourself a favor though… before letting your manager/etc. know about it, first think through how you’d fix it.
You Gotta Ask
Everyone’s got questions they need answers to… but not everyone asks them. Speak up. Even if someone thinks you’re a fool for a few moments, you've given yourself a chance to improve.
Keep communicating until they tell you to stop
Communication is vital to our success, so don’t leave it to chance. When sending important messages, keep communicating until someone says “stop”.