Finding a Win-Win in Difficult Situations
There are some extremely smart and creative people in the tech world. Surprisingly, many of them struggle with the simple concept of finding a win-win situation when adversity strikes.
I’ve observed that it’s common for developers to see a difficult circumstance as a win-lose, lose-win, or worse yet, a lose-lose proposition. These situations can seem scary, but they can also provide a great opportunity to grow a relationship. In my experience, people remember how adversity was handled, not that it occurred.
The ticket to discovering a win-win involves stepping outside of the situation, having empathy for the other party, and using the same creative problem-solving skills that make you a top developer.
Here’s the process I use.
- Recognize the Situation
Many of these situations happen so quickly that we miss them. If you feel like a decision that you’re about to make will result in someone “losing,” you’ve found