Key software people skill: know your role in team conversations. Are you the task leader this time? Are you the evaluating audience? Tension reliever? Central negative? Knowing how your role functions can help you focus on effective contribution.
A task lead should lay out a clear description of the problem at hand. They should follow up that description with suggested courses of action, or possibly alternatives & a recommendation. The task lead will also negotiate — or in pathological cases, argue — over the challenges raised by the central negative.
The central negative works on clarifying the proposed solution’s fit to problem space. They interrogate the solution. They find corner cases and scaling concerns. They identify underserved workflows. Best players of this role strengthen a solution rather than shoot it down: they suggest improvements don’t just identify defects.
The back and forth of the task lead and central negative can produce friction. The tension reliever helps drain that pressure before things get too heated. A joke might work for some teams. A more “parliamentary procedure” approach of tabling contentious issues might for others. Any redirect that works, works.
The evaluating audience is like oil for the conversation. Aligned with no one, they help assess the points raise and the solutions offered. They support the tension reliever when redirection is needed. By lending support, they make conversation less personal and more collaborative.
Often, conversations are dynamic. Roles will change throughout its flow. It can be important to know when to yield a role, or to assume it. And once you’re playing the role, it’s important to understand your role’s responsibilities, so you can fulfill them purposefully.