Emotional Intelligence Principles For Business Analysts. Stephen Wagner

Transcription

1 Emotional Intelligence Principles For Business Analysts Stephen Wagner

2 Before we start This session should (hopefully) be a dialog Agree with my arguments? Disagree? Do the points make sense? Are there any examples you have come across? What does this mean to you?

3 Agenda Speaker Background How is Emotional Intelligence relevant for BAs Review of Emotional Intelligence Role of EI in Projects Best Practices & Techniques

4 Stephen Wagner Background Consultant with Cardinal Solutions Group Currently at Vantiv as Scrum Master Worked at P&G/Gillette 14 years Relocated to OH from Massachusetts in 2007 Attorney for 10 years before switching to IT as programmer

5 How is EI Relevant for BA s? Powerful tool BA can use in variety of projects Traditional/Waterfall Agile & Scrum BA role well suited for applying EI principles BA interacts with Project Manager, Developers, QA, UX roles in project Projects bring out strong emotions Outsourcing Replacing legacy systems Deadlines

6 Review of Emotional Intelligence

7 Review of EI History Term first used in PhD thesis in 1985 by Wayne Payne Popularized by Daniel Goleman First Book Emotional Intelligence (1995) Harvard Business Review Article What Makes a Leader (1998) Since then huge amount of books and articles (10,000+ hits in Amazon search)

8 Review of EI cont. What is EI? Science behind EI How is the brain wired Amygdala (ah-mig-da-la) Fight or Flight Physical survival in primitive world Limbic System Governs feelings, impulses, drives Learns best through motivation

9 Review of EI cont. Five Key Domains Emotional Intelligence Self Awareness Empathy Motivation Self Management Social Skills

10 Self Awareness Ability to recognize and monitor one s internal states, preferences, & feelings Hallmarks (4) Emotional Awareness Accurate self assessment Self confidence Self-deprecating sense of humor

11 Self Awareness cont. Tools for Self Awareness Personality tests Myers Briggs, DISC, Birkman, etc. Reflection & review recognize what circumstances bring out best & worst of you 360 assessment to reveal blind spots

12 Self Awareness cont. Example BA knows working under pressure brings out the worst in her Response? Manages time & open tasks well Gets needed data quickly Keeps track of commitments

13 Self Management Managing internal states avoiding disrupting impulses & moods Think before acting Like an ongoing inner conversation Hallmarks (4): Self control Trustworthiness Adaptability Open to new Ideas

14 Self Management cont. Tools for Self Management Use reflection and thoughtfulness often Develop comfort with ambiguity Always be open to novel ideas & approaches

15 Self Management cont. Example: Java Developer informed position is being outsourced to offshore vendor Response? Takes active role in documenting code Looks for opportunities to lead team Learns new Knowledge Mgt. system

16 Empathy Ability & skill in understanding emotional makeup of others Hallmarks (3) Cultural sensitivity & understanding Expertise in building relationships Service orientation

17 Empathy cont. Tools for Empathy Gain knowledge of cultures & norms example know news & major events of offshore teams home country - India Cricket team Practice service orientation Seek opportunities to leverage diversity

18 Empathy cont. Example Product launch demo suffers major outage. Problem traced to bug missed in testing by offshore QA team. Response? Empowers testing team to raise No Go anytime & without pressure from stakeholders Gets budget approved for latest defect mgt. software

19 Social Skills Proficiency in managing relationships, building rapport & finding common ground Hallmarks (3): Effective Change Leader Collaboration & cooperation Leadership & Team Building

20 Social Skills cont. Tools for Social Skills Negotiation skills Getting to Yes Conflict management Clear & unambiguous s & other communication Always Take the high road

21 Social Skills cont. Example: BA takes time to visit users frustrated with accounting system Response? Provides work-arounds & documents a new user guide Volunteers to be on call off-hours during monthly financial close

22 Motivation What is it? - Pursuing goals with energy and persistence Hallmarks (3) Optimism in face of failure Strong drive for achievement Commitment to project vision & goals

23 Motivation cont. Tools Metrics & progress tracking often promotes action Practice Sharpening the saw (Covey) Self Knowledge: motivators & de-motivators

24 Motivation cont. Example: Product Owner wants to employ sense of urgency in project. Response? Take aggressive steps to be ahead of issues instead of catching up Always have burn down charts available (metrics) and product backlog groomed & prioritized

25 Role of Emotional Intelligence in Business Analysis

26 Role of EI 6 Underlying Competencies BABOK Analytical Thinking & Problem Solving Behavioral Characteristics Business Knowledge Communication Skills Interaction Skills Software Applications EI is an enabler for 5 of 6 competencies From Chapter 8 BABOK v.2

27 Role of EI cont. Elements of effective Business Analyst Good emotional radar Unambiguous communication Ability to deal with wide range of personality types Build & maintain relationships Do you think EI is a key part of above list? What other Elements?

28 Role of EI cont. Fundamentals of great Project Manager Quality engagement of stakeholders Understands customers Maintain healthy relationships with Team Does EI contribute to above?

29 Role of EI cont Key Enablers for Effective Team Members Ability to collaborate with high quality Capability to learn from peers Constructive in criticism of themselves & others Capacity to trust other team members Agree that EI strongly contributes to above?

30 Best Practices and Techniques

31 Best Practices & Techniques Develop EI Action Plan Choose 1 Domain you are good at Review reasons for success Find what actions could make it outstanding

32 Best Practices & Techniques cont. Develop EI Action Plan Choose 1 Domain with potential to be good at Action plan to address Enlist trusted co-worker/mentor to discuss & plan Regular check on progress

33 Best Practices & Techniques cont. Goal Setting Tips Goals should build strengths Goals must be your own, not someone else s Plans must be flexible & feasible with manageable steps Plans must fit your learning style

34 Best Practices & Techniques cont. Trad. & Agile Project Teams Educate other Team members on EI principles Lunch & Learns Network with other teams interested in EI Work with Scrum Masters - Use EI concepts in retrospectives Adapt retrospective games to include EI EI is great tool for successful relationships with users & stakeholders

35 Scenarios EI works well Conflict within Project team Stakeholder/Sponsor Relationships Demanding and stressed out Users

36 Conclusion EI works well for BA Role 5 Domains of EI gives BA excellent tools EI is enabler for BABOK competencies Common Scenarios are improved with EI Practices & Techniques

37 Further Information EI books & articles Daniel Goleman Working with Emotional Intelligence Covers EI in workplace Primal Leadership EI and effective leadership practices Google search uncovers many articles and blogs

38 Questions?