Soft skills are as critical as technical skills for a software engineer.
No one works in isolation. Each person has to deal with teammates, colleag...
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Nicely written!
Some more qualities that are necessary:
1) Saying NO: When a task cannot be done in X time, say no. Committing to unrealistic deadlines is the reason why many projects fail.
2) Asking for help when needed: You know that it cannot be done without that senior developer's help. Go ask for it!
Yes! I totally agree with you 👍
Two things I think about a lot when I think about what makes a good teammate is great listening skills and a sense of empathy.
When I think about the great managers I've worked with, they always took the perspective of "how do I serve my staff so they can do their jobs well," rather than thinking of everyone they manage as serving them. So I guess I'd include "humility," too.
This is so insightful. Thank you.
I'm glad!
Unfortunately, sometimes people can choose processes over people.
Learning to write better is one of the main skills we need to learn. Since the bulk of our communication consists of written communication through slack, trello, technical documentation for collaboration.
You are right! The work goes much easier when we can formulate the questions much precisely, and when there is documentation which is in order, maintaining and updating in time, etc.
Diplomacy I find is a necessary skill in working across Teams, or with other departments. Phrasing, asking questions without making people defensive, avoiding blame when working through issues - all useful skills in communication both verbal and written. Something I have found useful in trying to get details of how a Contract works with an API, or find out who runs a specific set of servers that I need access to. Knowing how to get people to work with you, when they have higher priorities than your high priority project, very useful to know.
It's true! Working on the team and with other teams requires a considerable amount of soft skills to perform well.
A good developer gets the "big picture" of a large project and identifies smaller parts, appropriately breaking large tasks into smaller ones, and then focusing on those smaller tasks, one at a time, handling overlapping tasks right away (this involves listening skills as well, so you can know what your coworkers are doing).
Not all developers can see a "big picture" of a large project because of their entire professional competence. That's why it's essential to have a senior developer - mentor beside them.
Great article Iona... Finding your posts so helpful. This skills are crucial for success... I also would agree on Sharp Analysis is #1.. that helps in everything else.. from dealing with computers to humans and organizations...
Thanks
You are welcome! 🙏
This is skills one develops as time goes by, For starters, they would be fried to say No to an impossible task.
For me , I control my own schedule based on achievable tasks within short term and long term basis. it helps me complete tasks in a timely manner and allow for room to adjust and request for more time from the project owner or project head
Are these that someone in the software industry doesn't know they need? Why is this kind of fluff getting through to my mail?
I agree with this. As we progress throughout our career we realize that soft skills play a critical role.