Thursday, March 9, 2017

A Simple Superpower

There was a problem and I could tell by the discussions in the hallways. I would hear from one side that the test automation doesn't work, and it will be perhaps fixed later - but uncertain. And I would hear from the other side that there's a lot to do, with suspects of not really having time to address anything outside immediate attention.


I don't have a solution any more than anyone else. But I seem to have something of a superpower: I walk the right people into one space to have a discussion around it. And while the discussion is ongoing, I paraphrase what has been said to check if I heard right. I ask questions, and make sure quiet does not get interpreted as agreement.

There's magic in (smart) people getting together to solve things. But seems that bringing people together sometimes is a simple superpower. Dare to take room for face to face communication. If two is enough to address something, great. But recognizing when three is not a crowd seems to provide a lot of benefits.

If you can use 15 minutes in complaining and uncertainty, how about walking around to have a practical solution-driven discussion. It's only out of our reach is we choose so.