These are great questions, thanks for starting the discussion.
I noticed that your team uses Skype (which, of course, has telephony) -- is there a reason that your team doesn't supplement your written communication with an occasional phone / video-call? That might provide a release and opportunity to generate some of the more subtle oral/visual cues that tend to happen with in-person interactions.
Since this is a topic about written communication, I do have a few thoughts:
I think that recognizing the limitations / potential pitfalls in purely-written communication should provide a catalyst for everyone to be more mindful about their language and tone. Little things like saying "I see we made this technical decision; would you mind briefly highlighting the rationale for this approach" versus "Why did you design it this way" can make a big difference.
If you feel like you're in an unproductive disagreement that is beginning to resemble a tail-spin, consider embracing the tactic to Disagree and Commit (h/t Jeff Bezos). Using that approach, you can just say: "For the record, I disagree, but I respect your decision and will work hard to make this work."
I look forward to hearing what others have to say!
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Hi Damien,
These are great questions, thanks for starting the discussion.
I noticed that your team uses Skype (which, of course, has telephony) -- is there a reason that your team doesn't supplement your written communication with an occasional phone / video-call? That might provide a release and opportunity to generate some of the more subtle oral/visual cues that tend to happen with in-person interactions.
Since this is a topic about written communication, I do have a few thoughts:
I think that recognizing the limitations / potential pitfalls in purely-written communication should provide a catalyst for everyone to be more mindful about their language and tone. Little things like saying "I see we made this technical decision; would you mind briefly highlighting the rationale for this approach" versus "Why did you design it this way" can make a big difference.
If you feel like you're in an unproductive disagreement that is beginning to resemble a tail-spin, consider embracing the tactic to Disagree and Commit (h/t Jeff Bezos). Using that approach, you can just say: "For the record, I disagree, but I respect your decision and will work hard to make this work."
I look forward to hearing what others have to say!