Communicating Effectively In Engineering Projects

I was Wrong about Influence. Early in my career, I believed influence in a decision-making meeting was the direct outcome of a strong artifact presented and the ensuing discussion. However, with more leadership experience, I have come to realize that while these are important, there is something far more important at play. Influence, for a given decision, largely happens outside of and before decision-making meetings. Here's my 3 step approach you can follow to maximize your influence: (#3 is often missed yet most important) 1. Obsess over Knowing your Audience Why: Understanding your audience in-depth allows you to tailor your communication, approach and positioning. How: ↳ Research their backgrounds, how they think, what their goals are etc. ↳ Attend other meetings where they are present to learn about their priorities, how they think and what questions they ask. Take note of the topics that energize them or cause concern. ↳ Engage with others who frequently interact with them to gain additional insights. Ask about their preferences, hot buttons, and any subtle cues that could be useful in understanding their perspective. 2. Tailor your Communication Why: This ensures that your message is not just heard but also understood and valued. How: ↳ Seek inspiration from existing artifacts and pickup queues on terminologies, context and background on the give topic. ↳ Reflect on their goals and priorities, and integrate these elements into your communication. For instance, if they prioritize efficiency, highlight how your proposal enhances productivity. ↳Ask yourself "So what?" or "Why should they care" as a litmus test for relatability of your proposal. 3. Pre-socialize for support Why: It allows you to refine your approach, address potential objections, and build a coalition of support (ahead of and during the meeting). How: ↳ Schedule informal discussions or small group meetings with key stakeholders or their team members to discuss your idea(s). A casual coffee or a brief virtual call can be effective. Lead with curiosity vs. an intent to respond. ↳ Ask targeted questions to gather feedback and gauge reactions to your ideas. Examples: What are your initial thoughts on this draft proposal? What challenges do you foresee with this approach? How does this align with our current priorities? ↳ Acknowledge, incorporate and highlight the insights from these pre-meetings into the main meeting, treating them as an integral part of the decision-making process. What would you add? PS: BONUS - Following these steps also expands your understanding of the business and your internal network - both of which make you more effective. --- Follow me, tap the (🔔) Omar Halabieh for daily Leadership and Career posts.

Great engineering leadership isn’t about solving everything. It’s about creating the conditions where your team can. In my early leadership days, I thought I had to walk in with the answers. Over time, I learned something better: Most engineers don’t need hand-holding. They need clarity, context, and trust. Here’s how I lead now (and what’s worked): 1. Present the problem, not a pre-baked solution. → Engineers are problem-solvers. Don’t rob them of that. → Instead of “We need to use Kafka here,” say: “We need async processing at scale. Thoughts?” 2. Share constraints early. → Be open about deadlines, budget, team bandwidth, or tech debt. → Constraints help the team make realistic design choices. 3. Make room for trade-off discussions. → Your job isn’t to rush decisions. It’s to ensure good ones. → Let the team think through latency vs cost, monolith vs microservices, etc. 4. Guide the decision, don’t dictate it. → Ask: “What risks do you see?” or “What’s your fallback plan?” → Step in only when clarity or urgency is needed. 5. Protect builder time. → Cut unnecessary meetings. Shield them from noise. → Innovation dies in a calendar full of status syncs. Leadership is knowing when to speak and when to listen. You don’t earn trust by having all the answers. You earn it by helping your team find better ones.

The silent killer of your team efficiency: Closed communication. Closed communication loops can stifle innovation, breed resentment, and hinder progress. A 5-step plan to break out of closed communication loops: 1. Establish 'No Interruption' Zones • Set dedicated times for open discussion where all team members can share their thoughts without fear of interruption • Create a safe space by establishing ground rules, such as no judging, no interrupting, and respecting all perspectives • Encourage participation from everyone, especially quieter team members who may hesitate to speak up in typical meetings 2. Conduct Communication Audits • Regularly assess the effectiveness of your communication channels in promoting open dialogue and collaboration • Use anonymous surveys or one-on-one interviews to gather honest feedback about communication strengths and weaknesses • Analyze the data to identify patterns, bottlenecks, and areas for improvement in your communication processes 3. Implement 'Silent Meetings' • Begin meetings with a period of silent, written communication where all participants write down their ideas, questions, and concerns • This approach levels the playing field, giving everyone an equal chance to contribute without the pressure of speaking up in front of the group • Review the written feedback as a team, addressing each point and ensuring all voices are heard and valued 4. Encourage 'Active Listening' Workshops • Provide training for your team on the principles and techniques of active listening • Teach skills such as paraphrasing, asking clarifying questions, and maintaining an open, non-judgmental attitude • Practice active listening in role-playing scenarios and real-world conversations to build trust and foster two-way communication 5. Analyze Open-Door Policy Effectiveness • Gather data and feedback to evaluate the true openness and accessibility of your leadership team • Track metrics such as the frequency and duration of employee-initiated conversations, the diversity of individuals who take advantage of the open-door policy, and the outcomes of these discussions • Use this information to identify gaps between the intended and actual effectiveness of your open-door policy, and take steps to bridge those gaps Remember, breaking out of closed communication loops is an ongoing process that requires consistent effort and commitment from all levels of the organization. Start small, be patient, and lead by example. Join the 12,000+ leaders who get our weekly email newsletter. https://lnkd.in/en9vxeNk

The key to progress on hard, complex projects comes down to latency and bandwidth — the interfaces through which teams communicate. 1 / Latency is the delay. How long it takes for information to travel, decisions to be made, or problems to surface. High latency slows everything down — people wait, guess, or lose momentum. Strong leaders reduce latency by creating environments where: Feedback moves quickly. Problems are flagged early and acted on decisively. Communication loops are short, direct, and clear. 2 / Bandwidth is the capacity. How much information can flow between people. Low bandwidth leads to confusion, blind spots, and misalignment. Strong leaders increase bandwidth by ensuring: Teams share the right context at the right time. Communication is open, transparent, and efficient. People trust each other enough to exchange ideas freely. When latency is low and bandwidth is high, progress accelerates. Teams collaborate seamlessly. Small signals get noticed before they become big problems. Decision-making improves. Great leaders don’t just manage — they optimize the interfaces of communication within the team. They create systems where ideas flow, feedback happens in real time, and no one is stuck waiting for clarity. Because in the end, the speed and quality of progress aren’t just about individual talent — they’re about how well the team interacts. Thoughts??? If you’re building hard things and want signal over hype, subscribe to Per Aspera. 👉🏻 Join here: https://lnkd.in/gacTgUkh

You can never over-communicate. This is one of my core management principles. In leading any organization, no matter the size or structure, you must actively, intentionally, and repeatedly communicate. And I am not just talking about team emails or town halls, both of which are important. I am talking about communication in all forms—formal and informal, verbal and written, broadly transmitted and delivered one-on-one. We often think we've done "a lot" of communicating. But even when we feel like we've hit every channel and made every point clear, there's always someone out there who still feels in the dark or disconnected from the mission or message. This doesn’t mean you’ve failed—it means you're human, and so are your teammates. But it also means that there is always room for more connecting. Maybe you need to enlist other messengers? Maybe you need to re-examine your message or your delivery? Most people don't just want to have an understanding of what's going on—they want to know how they fit in. This is especially true in mission-driven organizations where financial compensation takes a back seat to intrinsic rewards. People want to feel like they matter and that their work contributes to something bigger than themselves. Your team can’t connect to the mission unless you tell them exactly what that mission is. And then tell them why that mission is important. And then tell them how important their roles are in that mission. And then tell them all of that again and again. Effective communication isn’t about repetition for repetition’s sake—it’s about connection, clarity, and culture-building. When you bring people along, they are not just doing the work—they’re owning the mission. So, yes, send that extra email, give the extra update, or pop into a team member’s office one more time. Chances are, someone wants to hear more about how they can help move your mission forward. #Communication #Leadership