net - UK (2020-04)

LH: In the multitude of skills that factor in to being a solid cross-functional

communicator, there’s one big one we often overlook: figuring out what our colleagues

primarily care about. By default, we each tend to communicate clearly about what we

think is most important – speed, quality, hitting a particular business goal – and forget

to communicate in terms of what the other party thinks is most important.

It’s a two-step process. First, it’s critical to understand what your cross-functional

peer cares about most. What worries them right now? What’s their number one goal?

What are they optimising for? Second, practise translating what you care about into

what they care about. It might take some experimentation before you get it right but,

after some trial and error, you’ll begin to figure out how to speak their language.

This doesn’t mean you need to agree with them or that their goal is now your goal.

Instead, the point is to learn more about what they’re focused on, so that you can

translate what you care

about into terms that they

already value.

This is the fastest way to

get folks to work towards a

common goal. While it might

not feel as good as speaking

in terms of solely what you

care about all the time, it’s

important to build this trust

and empathy first, so that

you can then work together

towards shared outcomes.

How do you foster good communications

between design and development when they

often speak a different language to each other?

Sush Kelly, Birmingham, UK

QUESTION OF THE MONTH

Send your questions to [email protected]

Practical

advice from

industry experts

J CORNELIUS

Cornelius is the founder

and president of Nine

Labs, a digital product

strategy, design and

experience consultancy

operating in Atlanta and New York City.

w: http://www.ninelabs.com

t: @jc

LARA HOGAN

Hogan is a management/

leadership coach and

trainer at Wherewithall.

She is also the author of

the bestselling book

Resilient Management.

w: resilient-management.com

t: @lara_hogan

THIS MONTH FEATURING...

Test ing

WHAT IS MANUWARE?

I love your idea of manuware (medium.com/

swlh/dont-build-a-mvp-6ffe42e2892c): a

prototype that looks like software but is

actually powered by manual labour, as an

alternative to building an MVP. But I’m

struggling to conceive what that might

look like in practice. Can you explain it a

little further?

Ella-Grace Waters, Delaware, US

JC: Manuware is great for some things

dqg#pruh#glL·fxow#iru#rwkhuv1#Zkhuh#

it makes a lot of sense is very early on

In her book Resilient Management, Lara Hogan shares her recipe for supporting and

leading a tech team, from developing your mentoring and coaching skills to dealing with

difficult conversations