We don't want no testers. We don't need no testers.

Yikes! Recently, I've seen more posts than usual about the usefulness of testers and whether we should even have them on a team or not. I read a very interesting post about polarising articles, which was insightful (not least because of my daily posting goal!). But what did I find interesting about it?

It reminded me of some content I read back in 2021 on Twitter (now X).

Doing it for "The Views"

Or the algorithm!

An agile consultant with a large following made the posts. And the topic? How testers that don't code are useless. Not exactly the same topic, but it's in the ballpark of what I'm seeing today. With one vital difference.

The author had little to no curiosity when his views were challenged.

In other words, it was done purely for views. Whenever someone asked a question, even framed in the most genuine and sincere way, it was either fobbed off or outright ignored. When I contrast that with the posts I've been seeing over the past couple of weeks, that's a key difference. At least the LinkedIn posts are generating actual dialog, albeit a little tetchy and sharp at times.

Enter coaching skillz!

So why am I bringing all this up?

Well I have some ideas about how to handle these conversations and (predictably 😇) they involve coaching skills! Specifically unconditional positive regard, active listening and powerful questions.

Here's how it works.

Unconditional positive regard: What we're talking about here is not just a difference of opinion. It's a difference in experience that generated that opinion. So play around with that. Where is the truth in what's being said? What's interesting about their experience? In what context(s) would these opinions make sense? How does their experience differ from yours?

Active listening: Or reading in this case 🙂. Highlight the parts of what was said/written that signal some of the above angles (where are they right, what are their personal experience, where do you disagree, where are the threads to pull on, etc).

Powerful questions: Use the results from the earlier steps to craft some open questions (and don't forget to avoid "why" questions).

And if you want to see an example of me doing this, here's a talk you might enjoy!

A 3 Step Guide For Testing Folks That Encounter Misunderstandings About Testing

What happens when you meet someone who has a different point of view on testing? Read on!

What will you write today?