Conversations with various stakeholders are a considerable part of a business analyst’s job. During their work, business analysts will frequently find themselves involved in meaningful discussions as they go through the process of elicitation, current state analysis, requirements lifecycle management, and other stages of a typical project.
More often than not, effective communication and collaboration are vital for successful project outcomes. However, this is easier said than done. The modern business environment will often put business analysts into challenging situations requiring difficult conversations with different individuals across the organisation.
Being able to address these issues is one of the most important strengths of any analyst, as poor communication or the lack of it is among the main reasons why a particular initiative may fail.
So, while most people would like to avoid having difficult conversations in the workplace, it’s a business analyst’s responsibility to approach them head-on and, by doing so, create an open and honest environment, where there’s nothing that can’t be discussed or handled together.
We will explore the importance of embracing these challenges instead of avoiding them, especially for business analysts, and suggest a few strategies on how to handle these situations effectively.
Table of Contents
The Significance of Difficult Conversations for Business Analysts
A business analyst
plays a pivotal role in bridging the gap between all the stakeholders involved in a certain project, especially those engaged on the business side and those in the production process.
So, as they perform their role, business analysts are likely to encounter and engage various stakeholders, who often have diverse priorities, perspectives, and styles of communication. Therefore, due to the very nature of their role, engaging in difficult conversations in the workplace is inevitable for a large majority of BAs.
These conversations may include a number of different subjects and issues that occur during a project, such as addressing conflict requirements, negotiating scope, managing expectations, communicating potential risks or setbacks, and seeking resolutions when conflicts from these processes arise.
In many cases, these discussions can be highly emotionally charged, and can often lead to increased stress and anxiety, especially for junior business analysts who are dealing with these kinds of situations for the first time. Because of this, some analysts will tend to shy away from conversations like these, mainly out of fear of conflict or discomfort.
Nevertheless, these discussions, while difficult, are very useful as they allow the analysis and other stakeholders to learn about each other’s perspectives, values, and needs. All this leads to better understanding, communication, and trust between everyone involved in a project which is the key to achieving desired goals.
Strategies for Handling Difficult Conversations in the Workplace
Navigating effectively through these kinds of conversations is not easy, but with the right preparation and approach, business analysts can handle them with confidence and success.
Below are some techniques for managing challenging conversations, and can be used to provide a framework to help prepare for difficult discussions.
Preparation is the Key
Probably the most important thing to do before entering a challenging conversation is to take time to prepare yourself.
Before engaging, determine the key objectives for a discussion, define the key points you want to get across, and try to anticipate the key objections or concerns you may face.
A good way to do this is to establish an agenda, as it will allow you to organise these important points, but also help you keep the conversation focused without veering off to topics of less relevance. You can share the main talking points with the stakeholders you plan to engage in conversation with, so they can also have a chance to prepare.
However, while your discussion should have some structure, it’s also important to keep it flexible. You go into it with a well-defined desired outcome, but still be prepared to compromise, especially after you’ve gained a deeper understanding of the other person’s point of view and experience.
It’s vital to reach an understanding during a difficult conversation which is not possible if you already have a solution in mind without any room for exchange and compromise. This is often a mistake inexperienced business analysts make as they go into the conversation without being able to accept that it may be difficult and that it may not go as planned.
Empathy and Perspective-Taking
It’s difficult to have a meaningful conversation without understanding the other person’s motivations, priorities, and concrete. Putting yourself in their shoes will help you emphasise with the other person, fostering better communication and building a rapport.
If a business analysis is approaching an already difficult conversation without being open to hearing other points of view, that’s just going to make the whole process even harder and make the discussion feel stuck and meaningless.
Therefore, it’s vital that you learn to put your view of the circumstances that led to the conversation aside and look at the situation from the other person’s perspective. This is where being empathic can help as it will make you more interested in what others feel, want, and worry about.
The careful and empathic approach is particularly important when the conversation is about a sensitive topic. Remember to always speak to others the way you’d want to be spoken to, with consideration and kindness. This will help the other person feel safe and valued which can only lead to more significant breakthroughs during the discussion.
Active Listening
Another strategy that will help you handle difficult conversations in the workplace is practicing active listening. In general, active listening is one of the most important skills that every business analyst should master and it’s particularly helpful during more challenging discussions.
This means that you need to give the other person a 100% of your attention, refrain from interrupting, and show that you’re genuinely interested in understanding their point of view.
One of the best ways to do this is by using body language, such as nodding to demonstrate that you’re paying attention. You also can do this by asking questions at the right times and caring about the answers you receive.
To be able to do this, you have to train yourself to be able not to think about your response (which is typically in our nature) while the other person is still sharing their perspective. So the focus should be on what the others are saying, rather than on your own thoughts.
Through active listening, it’s much easier to navigate a difficult conversation, find common ground, and reach an understanding with another person.
Focus on Facts and Data
To make sure you get your point across clearly and unambiguously, the arguments you use in the discussion should be based on facts and concrete data rather than on your personal opinions and feelings.
Instead of what you feel, the focus should be on what you know. By doing this, you will add credibility to your position and steer the discussion away from the direction where it may become overly emotional.
Still, to be able to stick to facts, you’ll need to be well-prepared for the discussion and have a clear idea of what it is about. This brings us back to the first section and preparation, as having some notes, documentation, or specific examples can help you steer a tough conversation in the right direction.
This also means that you should take responsibility for your part in the situation and issues that led to the conversation in the first place. Doing this is especially important for business analysts, as most stakeholders expect them to provide objective information and hard facts.
This type of approach will make it easier to figure out what went wrong and who’s responsible and identify the impact the issue in question may have on all parties in the conversation, as well as the entire organisation. Inserting your feelings and subjective views into the conversation will only get in the way of resolution.
Foster an Atmosphere of Trust and Honesty
Among the main responsibilities of a business analyst is to facilitate communication between team members and stakeholders. Therefore, it’s often up to analysts to create an environment where everyone feels safe and comfortable to express their opinions freely. Building trust is a necessary prerequisite for a successful collaboration.
Mutual trust among the stakeholders and a business analyst will encourage everyone involved in a project to come forward even with tougher topics. Maintaining regular feedback exchanges with stakeholders should allow the analyst to do a better job as they will be more candid in their communications even when issues they bring up may lead to difficult conversations.
Identify Common Grounds and Work Together Towards a Solution
In every difficult conversation with stakeholders, you should seek areas of agreement, as that helps in establishing a foundation for finding solutions together. This is also an area where active listening and acknowledging other participants in a discussion can be of great help.
The emphasis should always, especially during tough discussions on difficult issues, be on shared goals and objectives as that helps along the perspectives of everyone involved.
While different participants in the discussion may come to it with different actions and solutions in mind, finding common ground and building on it can help decide on the forward path together. It’s not about being right, but about finding the best solution.
Once the common grounds are established it will be much easier to involve stakeholders in the problem-solving process. Typically, joint decision-making and collaboration will yield more favourable and sustainable outcomes.
When the parties have agreed on certain things that are in common and a set of basic principles they agree on, it’s not that hard to organise a productive brainstorming session where everyone will compromise and contribute to finding the solution that works for everyone involved.
Take Care of Yourself and Take Breaks When Needed
Difficult conversations can be emotionally taxing. It’s one of the most stressful parts of a business analyst’s job. You should acknowledge that and always keep your self-care in mind and try to find healthy ways to deal with stress.
It’s often hard not to take everything during a conversation personally, especially when it’s a tough and sensitive one. So, try to create some distance between yourself and your reaction, in other words, don’t take everything to heart.
If you feel you need to take a break, take it. Often when emotions escalate the conversation can get out of hand and become unproductive. When you notice that happening, don’t estate to suggest that everyone takes a break.
Stepping away from a tough conversation, even for just a minute, gives both parties a chance to cool off and regroup. Sometimes you may even feel like you need to sleep on it and you should. Otherwise, you may notice your empathy and compassion dwindling during tough conversations which will typically have a negative effect on the course of the discussion.
The solution is rarely needed right away and it’s probably better for everyone to take time and return to the discussion when it can be conducted in a respectful manner.
Why You Shouldn’t Avoid Difficult Conversations
Although it may sometimes seem like an easier and more appealing short-term solution, evading tough conversations to avoid conflict or discomfort is rarely a good idea.
In the long run, it may have multiple negative consequences, including:
- Missed growth opportunities – Difficult conversations, while often hard to go through, often result in finding new opportunities for growth, learning, and improvement. It’s often the toughest discussions that lead to the most valuable insight and feedback.
- Escalation of issues – Putting the issues under a rug will not make them go away. Usually, the exact opposite will happen. Concerns and conflicts that are left unresolved will escalate and typically cause bigger issues down the line. Timely reaction is the best way to prevent problems from snowballing and becoming unmanageable.
- Damaged relationships – The success of business analysts often depends on the relationships they create with stakeholders involved in a certain project. Avoiding talking about serious issues can damage those relationships, erode mutual trust, and make collaboration extremely difficult.
- Project delays – Unresolved issues can lead to missed deadlines and project delays, which not only negatively impact the success of a project but also damages the analyst’s reputation.
Effective Conversations Template Collection
Bridging the Gap has an effective conversations template collection that contains 20 conversation scripts with 3–5-minute videos to ensure you know exactly what to say in some of the toughest situations business analysts face.
Here’s a complete list of each of the templates included in effective conversations template collection:
Requirements Issues
- Product Owner Requests Enhancements at the End of a Project
- Stakeholder Will Not Provide Justification for a Change
- Critical Business Need Isn’t Technically Possible
- Being Accused of Not Understanding the Terminology
- Getting Past “I Don’t Know”
Stakeholder Issues
- Need Manager to Introduce You to Key Stakeholders
- Being Accused that Nothing is Getting Done
- Stakeholder Declines an Important Meeting
- Senior Colleague Acts Divisively in a Meeting
- Building Rapport with New Stakeholders Who Would Rather Email
Role Issues
- Being Told “This is Not Your Job”
- Being Accused of Opening Up Big Issues
- You Want to Use a New Technique
- You Lack Clarity on an Assignment
- Asked to Cut Down a Timeline
Meeting Issues
- Critical Stakeholder is a No-Show to an Important Meeting
- How to Wrap Up a Meeting
- Meeting Participants Do Not Have the Answers to Your Requirements Questions
- You Have the Wrong People in a Meeting
- A Meeting Runs Over Time