consulting client management

This section talks about a new definition of clients that includes everyone you connect with in a workplace

The clients inside a company will be treated very differently than the ones "outside" of a company

The scenario video will cover how to engage with peers, leaders, and subordinates as well as clients inside and outside a company

Negotiating conflict is essential because it is rare and yet important when it arises. Having a method deal with is essential

Identifying Clients

Redefining "client"

• The term "client" extends far beyond external customers. It includes everyone we interact with professionally - bosses, coworkers, employees, and more

Managing your leaders

• Understand your boss's priorities
  • Leaders, due to their roles and titles, often focus on strategy and broader organizational goals
• Communicate proactively, with minimal details
  • They prefer concise, contextual updates
  • During incidents, avoid overloading them with details (e.g., the root cause, who's fixing it). That level of detail is for engineers or the incident manager
• Seek ongoing feedback on major outcomes
  • They want visibility into performance and impact
  • For rollouts, update them with clear statuses: Is it green, yellow, or red? Do we have feature parity? What's the customer feedback?
• Create alignment
  • Ensure your work aligns with the organization's strategy, mission, and vision
• Be consistent to build trust and rapport (close relationship)
  • Consistency fosters reliability and strengthens professional relationships

Engaging your peers

• Your coworkers are more than team members - they are internal clients, each with unique needs and contributions

Nurturing your employees as clients

• Understand their ambitions
  • If they don't have clear goals, help connect their work to personal or professional aspirations
  • Remember: "Average runs the world, exceptional changes it"
• Provide feedback and guidance aligned with their goals
• Create opportunities for growth
• Be transparent, protective, and curious
  • Give them a sense that you are on their side and have their backs
  • Offer correction when needed, but also show genuine curiosity in their work
  • Be observant and attentive to what they say and do

External vs. internal clients

• External clients usually pay the bills while internal clients provide the service to the external ones
• With external clients
  • Maintain the highest levels of professionalism
  • Uphold strong standards in quality, positivity, and timeliness
  • Show a can-do, positive attitude - they want to feel heard and respected
  • When agreeing to something, communicate clearly that timelines and scopes are subject to change - but also show commitment to delivery

Integrating a client-centric approach

• Always be curious
  • Ask: Why is the client requesting this? What do they need it for?
• Practice active listening
• Communicate and document
  • Never leave a meeting without a clear summary
  • Never enter one without at least a loose agenda
  • Example: "Here are the action items I have - does this look accurate based on our last meeting?"
• Seek feedback and adapt to improve
  • Sharing your direction gives others a chance to confirm alignment or raise concerns

Summary

• We explored a broader definition of client that included leaders, coworkers, employees, and your external clients
• This concept is meant to encourage engagement and professionalism with all work relationships
• A client-centric approach also requires a systemic approach to navigating expectations and conflict
• Treating everyone as a client will create a deeper sense of rapport and alignment with everyone around you

Managing Up Down and Sideways

Multi-dimensional management

• Mastering the art of managing relationships in multiple directions is beneficial and essential

Managing up with leaders

• Increased visibility
• Enhanced trust
  • Meet expectations and align with their goals
• Greater influence
  • Be present when needed and stay on track independently when not
• More autonomy (freedom)
  • Autonomy depends on trust, the signals you send, and your ability to consistently make decisions aligned with their strategy

Managing down with employees

• Clear expectations and communication
  • Send the right signals by clearly sharing your strategies and goals with the team
• Empowerment and autonomy
  • Present them with the problem, not the solution. Allow them to create their own solutions
• Regular feedback and recognition
  • Reinforce behaviors that align with your direction
  • Recognize effort - not just outcomes - and provide praise randomly to keep motivation high
• Trust through investment
  • Build trust by investing time, giving recognition, and providing growth opportunities

Managing sideways

• Build collaborative partnerships
• Foster mutual respect among peers

Managing outside the organization

• Enhanced reputation
• Increased opportunities
• Expanded future potential

Benefits of a holistic approach

• Enhanced alignment
• Improved outcomes
• Greater workplace satisfaction
• Better professional development

Summary

• This section walked you through the various perspectives around managing up, down, and sideways and the considerations for each
• Managing outside the organization is included as a reminder of the various benefits of engaging with external clients
• The benefits are numerous if you actively manage your work relationships holistically
• The ultimate benefit of this style of management is increased alignment with all the groups mentioned

Internal Versus External Clients

Client management in general

• A nuanced understanding of both internal and external clients is essential for effective collaboration and project success

Internal and external clients - Definition

• Internal
  • Team members
  • Company leadership
  • Other departments within the organization
• External
  • Individuals or organizations outside the company who are impacted by your products or services
  • Their satisfaction directly influences revenue and reputation

Meeting diverse needs

• Balancing the often divergent needs of internal and external clients is crucial for any project's success
• Internal client management
  • Focuses on process efficiency, project goals, and resource allocation
• External client management
  • Emphasizes product features, customer satisfaction, and managing expectations

Must-haves vs. good-to-haves

• Must-haves
  • Critical functionalities
  • Compliance requirements
  • Key performance objectives
• Good-to-haves
  • Additional features
  • Enhanced user experiences
  • Process improvements
• Prioritization, including internal and external client needs, often occurs before team presentations
  • Ignoring internal client priorities can slow down or even block your ability to meet external client demands
  • Example: Technical debt. Any system built by humans requires maintenance. If your codebase isn't maintained, it degrades over time. This degradation makes it harder to meet external client expectations because internal needs (like system upkeep) were neglected

Enhancing communication

• Regular updates
  • Establish a routine for project updates using tools like newsletters, emails, or project management dashboards
• Clear communication
  • Use clear, concise, and jargon-free language - especially when working with non-technical stakeholders
• Active listening
  • Listen attentively to fully understand client concerns and feedback
• Collect feedback
  • Use feedback mechanisms like surveys or review meetings to gather and implement client input

Aligning vision and goals

• The vision of your team, group, department, or company must align with the clients you intend to serve

Delighting your customers

• People enjoy pleasant surprises and dislike unpleasant ones
• Focus on
  • Delivering desired features
  • Creating engaging experiences
  • Ensuring customer satisfaction

Summary

• Definition of internal and external clients - External clients are outside the company and are affected by your products or services
• Strategies for external client management focus mainly on communication and expectation management
• Understanding the differing needs of external clients is key to managing them correctly
• The ultimate goal of any organization is the delight and satisfaction of customers via a product or service that solves their problems

Critical Thinking Problem Solving and Being Methodical

Critical thinking - Definition

• The ability to objectively evaluate situations, gather relevant information, and make informed decisions
• Integral to DevOps culture
• Helps assess problem scope and impact
• Enables decisions that minimize negative consequences
• DevOps engineers often face high-pressure situations, and critical thinking helps determine the best course of action

Critical thinking - Considerations

• Question everything
• Understand the why before how
• Make judgments based on reliable information
• Be an active listener
• Verify inputs through thorough research
• Pause to consider whether a tool or technique will actually solve the problem before using it
• Gather and compare alternatives

Problem-solving - Definition

• The process of creatively solving difficult or complex issues
  • Problem → Thinking → Solution
• Involves understanding the problem, identifying possible solutions (including long-term ones), and being open to failure as part of the process

Problem-solving - Techniques

• Root cause analysis (RCA)
• DevOps practices
  • Understand systems, apply the theory of constraints, implement feedback loops, promote continual improvement, collaborate, and build strong relationships
• A3 thinking
  • A structured approach to document and analyze every aspect of the problem-solving process
• Design thinking
  • Focus on how a client interacts with your workflow or system; improve the entire system, not just individual components
• Peer review
• Mind mapping
  • Visualization aids in understanding and identifying problems and solutions

Being methodical - Key concepts

• Set goals
• Document all significant information
• Define and prioritize tasks
• Minimize distractions
• Focus on one task at a time
• Take gradual, deliberate steps

Summary

• The section talked about three things essential for client engagement
• Critical thinking is essential because it allows us to systematically break down complex tasks and topics to simple actions
• Problem solving is necessary because clients have needs and expectations that have to be met and/or solved
• Being Methodical is all about being systematic, organized, and tracking what matters, whether it's projects, time, or level of effort

Managing Expectations for Self and Others

Understanding needs and goals

• Inquiry and clarity
  • Ask the right questions to uncover client needs and goals using who, when, where, what, how, and why - with depth and intention
• Active listening
  • Truly understand the client's input - not just hear it
• Expectation alignment
  • Ensure your approach and deliverables align with client expectations
• Scope and deliverables
  • Clearly define project boundaries, timelines, and goals

Clear and frequent communication

• Transparency
  • The cornerstone (the most important part) of trust in client relationships
• Regular updates
  • The pulse that keeps the project on track and clients reassured
• Preferred channels
  • Adapt to your client's preferred methods of communication
• Feedback loops
  • Two-way communication that drives project refinement and client satisfaction

Managing expectations

• Set realistic project cope/boundaries
  • For example, consider doing a proof of concept (POC) before committing to a full-scale implementation
• Define change management procedures
  • Establish clear protocols for handling changes, setbacks, or broken agreements
• Negotiate conflict resolution
  • Clarify how disagreements will be addressed and how both sides can adapt and realign
• Collaborate with clients
  • The more you understand each other's workflows, the smoother the partnership becomes

Delivering value and quality

• Holistic quality
  • Ensure excellence throughout the entire project lifecycle, from initiation to evaluation
• Measuring impact
  • Use relevant metrics to assess success and the return on investment (ROI) of DevOps initiatives
• Value-driven delivery
  • Prioritize what delivers the most value to the client in every output
• Continuous improvement
  • Use evaluations and feedback to improve both the project and internal processes

Building rapport and trust

• Professionalism
  • Consistently uphold high standards of work and ethical conduct
• Empathy
  • Show a genuine understanding of the client's perspective and challenges
• Reliability
  • Be a dependable partner who consistently follows through
• Exceeding expectations
  • Go beyond the basics to deliver exceptional service
• Create rapport
  • Remember to connect on a human level. Show engagement, be social when appropriate, and send positive signals - professional relationships thrive on connection

Summary

• This section covers a variety of ways to manage client expectations
• Managing expectations is part of a program of clear communication, setting firm goals and boundaries, and building rapport and trust
• No matter what technique you use, keep agreements, and if you must break them, do so intentionally
• Most importantly, stay customer-centric and customer-focused and you will succeed

Navigating Conflict

Navigating conflict - The model - behavioral change stairway model

• Active listening
  • Pay attention to both what is being said and what is happening nonverbally. Observe closely
• Empathy
  • Connect with the emotions and experiences of the person involved
• Rapport
  • Build connection and trust through consistent signals, tone, and behavior
• Influence
• Behavioral change
  • Achieve outcomes such as adjusting expectations, reaching agreements, or signing the next contract

Active listening

• Foundation of conflict resolution
  • Active listening is the cornerstone of effective conflict resolution
  • Pay attention to verbal, nonverbal, and paraverbal cues - expressions, micro-expressions, body language, tone, etc
• Behavioral change stairway model
  • Originally developed for hostage negotiation, this model progresses through: Active listening, empathy, rapport, influence, and behavioral change
• Active vs. passive Listening
  • Emphasize the distinction between simply hearing and actively engaging

Techniques for active listening

• Mirroring
  • Repeat the last few words or phrases to signal understanding and prompt more detail
• Paraphrasing
  • Restate what's been said in your own words to confirm understanding and demonstrate attention
• Emotional labeling
  • Name the emotions the speaker may be feeling to show empathy and build trust
• Effective pauses
  • Use intentional silence to allow reflection, signal thoughtful listening, and encourage further sharing

Emotional intelligence

• Emotional intelligence in conflict
  • Manage your own emotions while recognizing and responding to others' emotions in tense situations
• Working with emotions
  • Acknowledge that emotions are part of workplace dynamics and learn to navigate them constructively
• Projecting calmness
  • Stay composed to help de-escalate conflict and facilitate productive conversations
• One-on-one conversations for de-escalation
  • Private discussions can be essential for resolving issues in a respectful, focused way

Empathy and rapport in conflict resolution

• Empathy in understanding
  • Empathy allows deeper insight into others' perspectives and feelings, which is critical for resolution
• Building rapport
  • Rapport fosters trust and mutual respect, making conflict resolution smoother and more effective
• Maintaining relationships post-conflict
  • Implement strategies to repair, sustain, and even strengthen relationships after a conflict
• Drawing on existing relationships
  • Leverage established trust with colleagues to navigate and resolve conflict more effectively

Creating agreements to solve problems

• Genuine problem-solving
  • Focus on real, sustainable solutions - not just surface-level fixes
• Offering gestures of good faith
  • Demonstrate commitment to resolution through actions that build trust and credibility
• Avoiding counterfeit agreements
  • Ensure that resolutions are authentic and durable, not just convenient or short-term
• Striving for genuine agreement
  • Aim for solutions that genuinely meet the needs and interests of all parties involved

Summary

• This section highlights the skills and techniques that are necessary to navigate conflict in the workplace
• It models the FBI behavioral change stairway model which includes active listening, rapport, empathy, and influence
• Emotional intelligence cannot be understated as a necessary skill even in a professional environment
• The last point was about using agreements and collusion to solve problems

Story - Managing Up, Down, Sideways and Outside

Context

• The focus of the speaker's talk is on managing relationships upwards (with bosses), downwards (with subordinates), sideways (with peers), and outside (with clients)
• His key argument is that success in the workplace, especially in a leadership or consultancy role, requires an understanding of how to manage these relationships, with a particular emphasis on communication, aligning with others' needs, and creating of mutual value
• He uses the example of a forward-thinking architect in a company who fails to engage his colleagues, illustrating how a lack of balance in relationship management can lead to misalignment and dysfunction
• The overarching lesson is about "client management" - treating everyone as a "client, no matter their position in the hierarchy

Actions and result

• Treat everyone as a client
  • Treat your boss, peers, subordinates, and external clients as "clients," each with distinct needs and expectations. This approach emphasizes understanding and meeting their needs in ways that benefit both parties
  • When you adopt a client-centric perspective, you shift from transactional interactions (focused on task completion) to collaborative, value-driven relationships that foster long-term trust and rapport
• Inquire and be curious about their needs
  • Actively engage with your team members, peers, and leaders by asking thoughtful questions to understand their goals, challenges, and preferences
  • Understanding others' needs enables you to tailor your approach and communication style to better resonate with them. It also shows respect for their perspectives, which fosters trust and collaboration
• Create feedback loops
  • Establish mechanisms for feedback where others can share their thoughts and input - and ensure that you truly listen
  • Continuous feedback encourages open communication, aligns efforts, and creates a growth-oriented environment. Active listening ensures you understand - not just hear - what's being shared, enabling more effective action
• Align actions with their needs and expectations
  • Adjust your approach to meet the individual needs of those you work with, ensuring you fulfill their expectations
  • Aligning your actions with others' priorities makes your contributions more relevant and appreciated. It leads to better results because people feel understood and supported
• Prioritize what matters most to them
  • Identify which needs are urgent and which are less critical, then focus on delivering what truly matters to each stakeholder
  • Prioritization ensures that resources are used efficiently and that the most impactful actions are taken first. It reduces overwhelm and demonstrates your commitment to delivering meaningful results
• Build trust through consistency
  • Be consistent in both actions and communication. Follow through on commitments and demonstrate reliability
  • Trust is the foundation of any successful relationship. When you consistently deliver on promises and maintain clear communication, you demonstrate integrity - which strengthens rapport
• Provide value to everyone
  • Whether managing up, down, sideways, or externally, ensure you deliver tangible value to everyone you interact with. This might involve solving problems, offering support, or helping others achieve their goals
  • When people see that they are gaining value from their relationship with you, they are more likely to engage and trust you. In the workplace, this is crucial for effective collaboration and alignment
• Continuous improvement
  • Regularly work on improving your communication, listening, and relationship-building skills. Be open to feedback and refine your approach accordingly
  • Relationships and work environments evolve. Ongoing self-reflection and growth will help ensure you stay effective in managing relationships and contributing to team success

Quiz

Number	Question	Answer
1	What does the "Empathy and Rapport in Conflict Resolution" slide highlight regarding the role of empathy in understanding conflicts?	Empathy is important in understanding not just the surface issues but the underlying emotions and perspectives
2	According to the "Integrating a Client-Centric Approach in DevOps" slide, what is one of the tips for maintaining a client-centric approach consistently?	Active listening
3	What does the "Colleagues: Peer Clients in DevOps" slide discuss regarding the role of collaboration in the DevOps culture?	Collaboration is key for effective teamwork and innovation
4	According to the "Internal vs. External Clients" slide, what is the focus of the scenario video?	Examples of real-world managing up, down, and sideways
5	According to the "Employees: Nurturing Your Team as Clients" slide, what is one of the strategies suggested for nurturing a client-like relationship with team members?	Implementing regular one-on-one meetings
6	According to the "Introduction to Active Listening" slide, what is active listening presented as?	The cornerstone of resolving conflicts effectively
7	According to the "The Role of Emotional Intelligence" slide, what is one of the strategies for maintaining composure during conflicts?	Practicing calming techniques like deep breathing or mindfulness
8	What does the "Your Boss and Leaders: Your Primary Clients" slide list as one of the benefits of effective managing up?	Increased visibility
9	According to the "Delivering Value and Quality" slide, what is one of the key concepts related to ensuring excellence?	Holistic quality
10	According to the "Conclusion - Embracing a Client-Centric Approach" slide, what is one of the key concepts related to integrating skills for client success?	Synthesizing understanding, communication, expectation management, and value delivery into a cohesive approach
11	What does the "Active Listening Techniques" slide discuss regarding the impact of active listening techniques on communication and conflict resolution skills?	These techniques significantly enhance communication and conflict resolution skills
12	According to the "Identifying Clients to Begin with…" slide, what will the presentation discuss?	The importance of correctly identifying who your clients are in various scenarios
13	What does the "Understanding Client Needs and Goals" slide emphasize as the first step in effectively balancing client needs?	Understanding the specific needs and expectations of both internal and external clients
14	What does the presentation in the "Redefining 'Client' in Your Professional Ecosystem" slide introduce the client as?	A foundational aspect of the DevOps culture
15	What does the "Managing Up, Down, and Sideways" slide focus on?	Strategies for effectively managing relationships with superiors, subordinates, and peers
16	What is the purpose of the pre-assessment segment in the "Are you already intentional around the clients around you?" slide?	To evaluate where clients are seen in their environment
17	What does the "Managing Expectations and Boundaries" slide discuss regarding the importance of open dialogue in client relationships?	Open dialogue is important for negotiation and finding win-win solutions
18	According to the "Your Boss and Leaders: Your Primary Clients" slide, what is one of the strategies for managing up effectively?	Understanding your boss's priorities
19	What does the "Building Rapport and Trust" slide discuss regarding the impact of understanding not just the business but the people behind the business?	It is valuable for building strong client relationships
20	What does the "Internal versus External Clients" slide address regarding the needs of internal and external clients?	Internal and external clients have different needs and expectations
21	According to the "Problem-Solving and Agreement" slide, what does genuine problem-solving involve?	Delving into the root causes of conflicts and collaboratively working toward sustainable solutions
22	What does the conclusion slide emphasize regarding the role of active listening and emotional intelligence in conflict resolution?	They are foundational skills in understanding and resolving conflicts
23	According to the "Clear and Frequent Communication" slide, what is one of the strategies for effective communication with clients?	Regular updates
24	According to the "Employees: Nurturing Your Team as Clients" slide, what is one of the strategies for managing and supporting employees in a client-centric manner?	Understanding their career aspirations
25	In the post-assessment, how does the visual aid compare to the pre-assessment?	The post-assessment shows a before and after assessment to show progress