Persuasion methods for engineering managers

Summary

Persuasion is an essential skill for Engineering Managers.We persuade executives to approve new projects.We persuade our leadership to give us more resources.We persuade reports to tackle tasks that may not excite them.We persuade peer managers to lend us their help in cross-team projects.We persuade our cross-functional partners to move deadlines when they might overwhelm our team.We persuade during calibration and promotion sessions.We persuade potential hires to join our team.The list is endless.Ever wonder why you feel drained after a day of sitting in meetings? Now you know!Today’s article is a guest post by - who got promoted at Google from intern to Director of Engineering, and writes . She’ll share five persuasive methods that work well for engineering managers, with real-life examples of when and how to use them:The Nemawashi MethodThe Decoy Pricing MethodThe Reverse Psychology MethodThe LMDTFY MethodThe Engineered Serendipity MethodNemawashi is a Japanese term that translates to “going around the roots.” It's a Japanese gardening technique used when transplanting trees. Transplantation (moving the tree from one location to another) is a large change for a big tree. Gently digging at its roots, one strand at a time, helps prepare the tree for the shock of the big change.As a manager, you can use the Nemawashi method when you are persuading a lot of stakeholders. The best example of this is if you want to get a higher calibration rating for your report.At Google, only a small percentage of candidates receive the “Outstanding” rating. This applies to 18% of those in organizations with 200 or more members. So only 36 people across all levels would get this rating in a director-sized organization. In one calibration cycle, I had a report who received a promotion 6 months ago. By the general rule, they would receive a “Significant Impact” rating. This is Google’s version of “Meets Expectations.” I felt they exceeded expectations even after the promotion and dese...