Learning to Say No (continued)
Although we’d like to always be able to say yes, there are times when saying no actually serves our projects, our teammates, and our stakeholders best. Software practitioners can be subject to many conflicting or unreasonable demands. A manager may insist we work on several projects simultaneously, making it impossible for us to do good work on any of them. There may be enormous pressure to work long hours, which will jeopardize our health and the quality of our work. We can even find ourselves pressured to do things that conflict with our personal values. Paradoxically, learning to say a good “no” enhances our ability to say a meaningful “yes.” Fiona Charles will show you why “no” can be a more positive answer in certain contexts, how to recognize and resist the tactics people can use to try to get us to say yes, and how to say no when that is the right answer for us—simply, and with conviction, equilibrium, and respect. Saying no is not easy for anyone, but it is a skill that we can learn.
Fiona Charles is an independent consultant, specialising in the human side of software development and projects: teaching organizations to manage their software testing risk, and IT practitioners project skills “beyond process”—hands-on practical skills essential to thrive and excel on any kind of software project. She consults with clients on testing and test management, works as an Agile testing coach, and acts occasionally as a program-level test manager on difficult projects. She speaks and conducts workshops at international conferences and in-house for clients, has recorded many webinars, and published many articles in test-related publications. Fiona is co-founder (with Anne-Marie Charrett) of Speak Easy, a volunteer organisation designed to increase gender diversity at tech conferences and help new speakers find their voice. Contact Fiona via her website www.quality-intelligence.com, and follow her on twitter @FionaCCharles.