Part Two of Skills & Training needed for a Young or New BAs

This is the conclusion of my blog from last week. Number four on the list of training and skills is learning how to handle people. About 80 to 85% of what a BA does involves handling people. They run elicitation meetings, workshops, and need to relate and communicate with different levels of people in the company. They need to help groups of people from other divisions how to collaborate. The biggest thing a BA needs to do is to listen to respond and not to interrupt. Listening is the foundation of communication.

Sometimes a BA needs to help stakeholders to resolve differences. BAs are in the best place to lead a crucial conversation to resolve conflicts before they delay a project. BAs like this are much more successful, as all BAs should be good leaders. If they step up without being asked, that is even better as they show initiative. A brand new BA isn’t instantly ready to be a leader, but they should notice what other successful BAs are doing to prepare them for the future.

Newer BAs need to pick a mentor to help them with their career. The mentor can be an official or unofficial setup. You can have a mentor inside your company or from outside the company. As a Senior Business Analyst, I trained new BAs and became a mentor to them. That was a wonderful part of my job, and I experienced many proud parent moments. I always stressed a few essential things, such as you are not your documents; people give you feedback so the team’s documents are the best they can be. Don’t be afraid to FAIL; this stands for First Attempt in Learning.

Having a mentor from outside your company can be beneficial. You will get a different viewpoint and may learn great advice or other techniques than they could find from the peers you work with. I have witnessed BAs from all around the world share tips on how to do business analysis better. I learned things from my trainees as much as they learned from me. That is why you should be a lifelong learner. I am going to sign off with a quote I use quite often. “Treat every person you talk with like they are the only person in the world at that moment.” You will be amazed at how they respond to you. Until next time, please keep your glass at least half-full.