Why Tech Consultants Have Management's Ear (And You Don't)

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Why Tech Consultants Have Management's Ear (And You Don't)

Рет қаралды 19,124

Күн бұрын

Ever seen management bring in a technology consultant, and suddenly they're open to ideas you've been telling them all along? When this first happened to me, I figured technology consultants were probably just better at selling snake oil.
But halfway into my career I became a software development technology consultant, and I learned they were masters of one thing I sucked at - communication. Here's the good news: you don't have to become a technology consultant to be a master of communication. It's simply a decision you make to focus on it.
In this episode, I share 9 ways you can communicate like a consultant, that will get people to stop and listen to what you have to say with more authority and urgency on your software projects. Whether you're a software engineer, in QA or DevOps, or a product or product manager - we all respond to persuasive and informed communication the same way.
I hope this helps you get unstuck in your career in technology, and achieve things you never thought were possible on your software development project!
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CHAPTER MARKERS
0:00 Introduction
3:10 9 Ways to Communicate Like a Consultant
3:17 1. Be Business-Focused
5:11 2. Presentation Skills
8:20 3. Adapt To Your Audiences
12:25 4. Frequent Feedback Loops
15:26 5. Negotiation Skills
18:02 6. Healthy Resistance to Rushing
20:34 7. Project Documentation
23:38 8. Client Relationship Management
26:34 9. Continuous Learning
30:20 Episode Groove
#technology #consultant

Пікірлер: 87

@HealthyDev 2 ай бұрын

Tired of seeing technology consultants get all the attention? Are you ready to master communication, so you can rise to the heights you've always known were possible in your career?

@yurisich 2 ай бұрын

You discount the effect of simply being a consultant (better if your rate is high) and it having a big psychological impact on decision maker's perception of your abilities and ideas. I struggled by proxy watching good ideas go ignored because the person suggesting them was too low on the totem pole to be taken seriously.

@HealthyDev 2 ай бұрын

Thank you. I don't discount this, but this episode is not about that. Thanks for sharing though. It is a valid point and does have an impact on consultants being listened to.

@michaeljmeyer3 Ай бұрын

This is where a healthy org and a health engineering manager really shine. Luckily, I see more places are moving towards leadership styles that encourage a departure from hierarchical, non-listening organizations to ones that invest in teams and take their feedback seriously.

@Chris-ki2dx Ай бұрын

Yes, this happens in organizations of all sorts. However - we as humans, often when we are confronted with information or advice that is uncomfortable or new to us, just go 'No no, that doesn't work', 'No no, it's because of this thing or that other thing' - without considering why it might be legitimate. You can sometimes have the most straightforward solution to something, and people would still deny it. The fact that this is the top-rated comment here is very telling. Many people would rather believe that the consultant has the management's ear 'because he's paid more' and 'he's higher on the totem pole', rather than the other way around - he's paid more and he's higher up the hierarchy because he has some additional skills that set him apart from the man 'lower on the totem pole'. The causal direction is turned completely on its head here, and I find it absolutely hilarious when I see this.

@Chris-ki2dx Ай бұрын

Yes, this happens in organizations of all sorts. However... We as humans, often when we are confronted with information or advice that is uncomfortable or new to us, just go "No no, that doesn't work", "No no, it's because of this thing or that other thing" - without considering why it might be legitimate. You can sometimes have the most straightforward solution to something, and people would still deny it. The fact that this is the top-rated comment here is very telling. Many people would rather believe that the consultant has the management's ear "because he's paid more" and "he's higher on the totem pole", rather than the other way around - he's paid more and he's higher up the hierarchy because he has some additional skills that set him apart from the man "lower on the totem pole". The causal direction is completely switched here. This might be offensive or triggering to some people, but it's the reality. So, this video doesn't discount what you are describing. It's just not about that. Honestly, it looks like it's you who tries to discount the key message of the video, by basically ignoring its entire content and going "actually, you just need to be a consultant and be paid more, then you'll have more influence". That's the implication of your comment and perhaps you're not even fully aware of it. Whereas, again, in reality, to have more influence, you just need to have better communication skills, plain and simple, and there's really no way to get around it.

@Coufu Ай бұрын

Good communication skills is the equivalent of wearing super fancy clothes to work. I’ve seen people in zoom calls wearing torn up t shirts, but the way they communicate really shows everyone in less than a few seconds that they have their shit together. When you find improving your programming skills is reaching diminishing returns to your career, learning soft skills and communication is the only way to continue moving up.

@q1joe Ай бұрын

Tbh, suit wearing in consulting usually is a big turn off for me, it shows me the sales guy who is fueled by closing the deal, not solving the problem.

@danielsouza6154 2 ай бұрын

Dude, you're phenomenal, use your channel to learn or confirm situations I've experienced during my 20 years of experience in IT. It feels like I'm talking to myself in the mirror and I use all your audios to practice my English. The way you communicate and the clarity of your English is very good.

@HealthyDev 2 ай бұрын

Thank you! You're too kind. Appreciate the feedback (and validation I'm moving in the right direction).

@siclvceatlvx 2 ай бұрын

This is very very solid advice, there's so much in here that is useful. I highly encourage anyone who might feel stuck as a "code monkey" to develop their communication skills. I started by playing the old pedagogical game of asking questions, receiving answers, reformulating the answers I receive and ask the person I'm talking to verify my wording. Very simple and effective way to practice asking questions. Learning to love to do presentations is great, getting inoculated against pressures from authority is great, always leaving the personal out of discussions is great and having some sort of feedback loop is great. Becoming a better communicator is not just good for the career, but a boon to live in general. It's a heck of a lot of fun too :)

@ZachAttackThe 2 ай бұрын

This is great advice even beyond consulting. Theres so much more to being a great software engineer beyond slinging code

@go_better Ай бұрын

Thanks a lot! It'ssssss a difficult thing - communication. But yeah, we really need that. I can only contribute to the documentation point. The easiest exercise to practice communicating - is writing comments in code or a wiki or readme. And sharing it with a fellow developer to get a feedback on how clear it is. If the job security is a concern (pretty valid these days) - it can be done on personal or FOSS projects. Thanks again.

@kenito2050 Ай бұрын

Thanks Jayme - Very good point you made regarding "Healthy Resistance To Rushing". In college, I studied business but after I graduated, I studied computers. However, more and more, I am finding that my management classes were helpful. Case in point, if a manager is pushing for an estimate, I suggest pushing back but use language that management understands. For example, explain that you do not want to give an estimate without first "understanding the client's requirements". Thanks again. Stay Strong All.

@GoodFeel21 Ай бұрын

I saved this video as favorites! Really great advice here, thank you! You're like the super mentor we all need to keep going

@HealthyDev Ай бұрын

Thanks for the kind words. Glad it helps!

@ajr993 2 ай бұрын

One good way of training communication skills--use AI. Tell the AI to be pretend to be a certain person under a certain scenario. Admittedly it's not perfect but you can really hone your communication skills by practicing with the AI, and you can practice free of judgement. One thing I've noticed is that people are often afraid to give real feedback. They might think you suck at communicating while also saying you're doing fine. Or they might give you a small useless tip such as: maybe you could try speaking more confidently

@HealthyDev 2 ай бұрын

Absolutely!

@uvideo100 2 ай бұрын

You could probe further by asking them what makes you think that I am not confident…..why …and you may get some actionable feedback, or you could think about what they said, or you are free to disagree.

@malcolmanderson6735 2 ай бұрын

Yeah, I've got to listen to this one because my experience with consulting is exactly the way you you describe your initial experience.

@HealthyDev 2 ай бұрын

Totally understandable. Consulting is super confusing from the outside.

@reinerfranke5436 2 ай бұрын

Thank you much.🤗 You inspire me to have a look at the com issues as a more problem solving target. Not putting me in a personal reflecting position instead architecting the com to get my ideas and power further than on my own hands.

@agnieszkakomorowska1060 2 ай бұрын

Great content, opened my eyes about the causes of my frustration - thank you for sharing

@HealthyDev 2 ай бұрын

You're so welcome! Not sure what specifically helped, but glad to hear any of it did!

@pencilcheck 2 ай бұрын

Outshine or not, they will smile at you and say yea you are smart but then tell you to just do what’s already there and DEAL with it. Then once problem arise they blame you instead of

@desireco 2 ай бұрын

Jaime you are a gem. I am no longer employee, did struggle as immigrant with accent to be heard. It isn't easy but this is the way. Anyhow, thanks for excellent content.

@johndoan3526 Ай бұрын

Thank you for your invaluable insight. 👏

@j-r-hill Ай бұрын

Love this. You don't want to be a level 75 engineer and still a level 1 communicator. Plus it takes a lot less exp to get those early levels

@HealthyDev Ай бұрын

Nice analogy 😉

@WinstonCodesOn Ай бұрын

Regarding your last point on the frustration of being an employee vs consultants..Business people care about who the message is from more than the message

@tigana Ай бұрын

Such valuable information.

@HealthyDev Ай бұрын

Glad you liked it

@MortonMcCastle Ай бұрын

My late grandfather once told me about how he noticed that his father was not very good at communication and getting along with people, so he went to college and got a degree in communication. And later, he got a job as an insurance salesman and he became so effective and valuable that he was making more money than the CEO of the company he was working for! And said CEO became really kind of upset about that!

@HealthyDev Ай бұрын

Wow! Great story.

@LanceMiller87 2 ай бұрын

I think this is exactly the cause of most (if not all) of the headaches throughout my career...

@HealthyDev Ай бұрын

I was there for many years, trust me!

@ianhamilton7908 Ай бұрын

For improving your negotiation skills, Chris Voss is a good person to look up.

@al_capad Ай бұрын

At 7mins and change, I think it's mostly in US based companies, where proposing new ideas gives signal that you're engaging with company's values and culture.

@Oscar-vd4cv Ай бұрын

Dude I really needed to hear this. I'm so unhappy in my job and feel stuck. This is advice I'll take to the bank.

@HealthyDev Ай бұрын

Sorry to hear you're struggling. Hang in there! I hope this info helps you out some. It definitely helped me once I started practicing it.

@voidreact Ай бұрын

Very good advice, Jayme. Can you suggest some material to look up in the subject of communication?

@HealthyDev Ай бұрын

Flawless consulting by Peter Block, 3 Steps to Yes by Gene Bedell, and Unlimited Power by Tony Robbins have some good nuggets. It's a deep topic though and can be a rabbit hole if you're not careful.

@Elemblue2 Ай бұрын

I have invested my entire life in understanding people, which is not the same thing as being able to communicate with them. Initially, I thought it was. It seemed to me at first that you need to be an expert in everything in order to be functional. As I got older, I realized what was happening was the people good at communicating were convincing everyone else they were good at everything, when really they were just good at getting people to cut them slack. Communication expertise is a deep skill, that takes up brain space. Space that once its used, you dont get to use in another way (more or less). Your right it pays dividends, but what is the cost. I suppose if you weren't going to use it for anything else, you might as well. But dont make the mistake of assuming your not paying for it somehow. You are, with all the alternative versions of knowledge and growth you might have taken. Basically the value of anything you can do is multiplied by your communication skill. I just think its sad, because that means the truly focused specialists dont get to contribute essentially.

@Meuszman 2 ай бұрын

Nice vid. How can one go about learning more about communication and negotiating skills? Any books you recommend?

@yurisich 2 ай бұрын

Flawless Consulting by Peter Block, and Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss. The first book is better, and covers how to give information. The second book is kind of hokey but focuses more on asking questions and making statements that get the other party talking, which is almost always the goal.

@HealthyDev 2 ай бұрын

I will second Flawless Consulting. Fantastic book, changed my career.

@DieterPrivate Ай бұрын

Asking lots of questions can have a negative effect though... And I've never met a consultant that writes documentation 😂. I do it all the time and people thank me for it. All very good points you point out, but it just depends on the dev itself and their mindset

@HealthyDev Ай бұрын

Sorry to hear. Like many professions some people get into consulting for the wrong reasons, and don't take the profession seriously.

@florinpandele5205 Ай бұрын

The main problem is primarily the trust of the other person has in you, and unfortunately this is gained usually through ways that aren't compatible with a logic, ethical person as a programmers usually are. For the record that usually involves smoking and drinking one's mind out together or going to other unorthodox establishments for.. services. And there we have a problem because I am not in disposition to sacrifice my health in order to "communicate".

@HealthyDev Ай бұрын

How many jobs in tech have you had where bonding with leadership really required using drugs or paying for sex? I can see that happening sometimes, but do you really believe that's the primary problem in the industry to overcome, not communication?

@philipoakley5498 2 ай бұрын

There can be a documentation problem for unique contributors where they are two (or more) steps ahead of those who will be reading the documentation and it becomes very difficult to know how far to 'talk down' to the readers, and how to set a base line for the writing, along with the reader story for 'obvious' aspects of the tech, yet it's still needed. It's like all those terrible 'doc strings' for functions that say nothing that wasn't already within the function definition. If naming is hard, docs can be even harder. In some ways being a consultant is easier as you are already communicating simple solutions to simpler people from the (somewhat wrong) perspective of a technical specialist (who has the advantage of being even more 'dumb' about the business..)

@tinyrye 2 ай бұрын

I can tell with an intelligent team but with being siloed or or stymied ourselves by larger FUD about the direction of the company, there have been awkward pauses during conversations but I wish we spoke more. The issue is that the real exchange of information happens with members of other teams which are rarely forthcoming until something becomes critical to work on. That paired with that most people are in constant meeting cycles mean I cannot tell whether people actually know too much or too little to be in sync with my observations, and there rarely is a point to slow things down and get a good pulse.

@hesperauxyo 2 ай бұрын

You mentioned avoiding specific people because of their personalities; but what if a person is nice but they are incompetent, and always cause confusion and break downs in conversation when involved in meetings and discussions? How do we keep those kinds of people engaged while respecting them and preventing the chaos that normally ensues from their involvement? Should we still try to keep them involved, or should we minimize their inclusion?

@uvideo100 2 ай бұрын

If time permits, one way could be to meet with them after the group meeting, clear their confusion, and improve their competency.

@michaelpasterik4584 Ай бұрын

Great content, but I have seem problems going the other way. Dealing with coworkers (engineers) who are very introverted and will barely speak up, even to the point of very short answers to direct questions. Any suggestion on how to get better communication FROM them?

@HealthyDev Ай бұрын

Are you asking them the questions one on one, or in a group?

@whydoubt 2 ай бұрын

@9:30 "if you're about to apply for a job, and you're going to cold apply with a resume to a job application, which I don't recommend these days, there's better ways of doing it". I'm fairly new to your channel, but do you have a video that addresses what you _do_ recommend when applying for a job?

@HealthyDev 2 ай бұрын

Hey there. I do not have videos about this unfortunately. It's a pretty complex topic. I do offer a career coaching package that teaches people how to do it. It uses a combination of storytelling, psychology, and networking. If you're interested you can read more about my coaching here: thrivingtechnologist.com/services/software-development-coaching/

@panosdotnet 2 ай бұрын

My manager gave me an evaluation tip for first year..... not to communicate that much with colleagues even if 100% for business reasons. It was a good day that day, hahaha.

@HealthyDev 2 ай бұрын

Lol what?

@uvideo100 2 ай бұрын

@@HealthyDev, perhaps they mean communicate on a need-to-know basis. Jamie’s video is about communicating effectively.

@HealthyDev Ай бұрын

Ah....gotcha. Thanks for the clarification.

@bobbycrosby9765 2 ай бұрын

"I have people skills! I am good at dealing with people! Can't you understand that!? What is wrong with you people!" Sorry, couldn't resist.

@HealthyDev 2 ай бұрын

LOL ;)

@uvideo100 2 ай бұрын

Ha ha! But seriously, people who don’t see a reason to be helped, I don’t know how to help them.

@Meritumas Ай бұрын

A must read books about the subject: "Secrets of Consulting" 1 & 2 part by Gerald Weinberg

@gariking3895 2 ай бұрын

Facts!

@dinesee1984 2 ай бұрын

This comment is not video related, but could you make one about joining FAANG companies, does it make sense and what’s your overall take on devs trying to get to top tier companies? Many thanks

@Meritumas Ай бұрын

If you join FAANG as a dev the last thing you can expect that you will be seen as a consultant... you are a small cog in a big wheel.

@dinesee1984 Ай бұрын

@@Meritumas ???

@pencilcheck 2 ай бұрын

When you are asked for a documentation it just means you are out and they will not going to get you back regardless

@Netherlands031 Ай бұрын

Nice talk but very abstract, some examples would've helped a lot. Like what does it mean concretely to communicate like a consultant not a code monkey

@HealthyDev Ай бұрын

Did you not listen to the whole thing? It was full of examples. Was there a specific point you're confused on?

@Netherlands031 Ай бұрын

@@HealthyDev im not confused I just didn't hear any concrete sentences or things that people will actually say

@HealthyDev Ай бұрын

There are example conversations throughout. No, I didn't say explicitly "when someone says this, say this". I prefer to teach by stories and examples, not formulas. Hope that helps!

@scottfranco1962 Ай бұрын

My theory: Management pays attention to what programmers say in direct proportion to their pay scale.

@kawan5851 28 күн бұрын

It is not as professional as it seems in the indistry. For example my Indian colleagues work as a tribe and they promote each other and communite with each other beforehand in meetings. Similarly my british/irish colleagues value bartime after the work. If you are not going to the pub or spending hours with them in evenings then you are out. So it is not all about communication and professionalism. There are many other factors and sometimes they are not even in your control.