<story><title>Ask HN: What non-technical skills make a senior dev and how to develop them?</title></story><parent_chain><item><author>OliverJones</author><text>Empathy is the key skill. Yes, it&amp;#x27;s learned.&lt;p&gt;The ability to walk in somebody else&amp;#x27;s shoes for a while makes you a better developer. Why?&lt;p&gt;* You acquire the habit of imagining what it&amp;#x27;s like to use the stuff you develop.&lt;p&gt;* You have a feel for the daily experience of your colleagues, suppliers, executives and other stakeholders.&lt;p&gt;These things give you the sort of spidey-sense that lets you function independently. They also give you the ability to enlist other people to get things done.&lt;p&gt;How can you learn empathy? Like any skill, it takes practice.&lt;p&gt;--Listen to strangers. The question &amp;quot;what are you doing this afternoon&amp;quot; asked at lunch will usually get an interesting response.  Interject &amp;quot;wow&amp;quot; - like sounds to keep them talking.&lt;p&gt;--Seek opportunities to meet end-users of your stuff. (Ask sales people to take you along on calls if that&amp;#x27;s appropriate). Observe their work.&lt;p&gt;--Ask your executives and project managers questions like, &amp;quot;what keeps you awake at night?&amp;quot; And listen to the answers.&lt;p&gt;--Teach. It doesn&amp;#x27;t matter whether you teach short courses or get a night job as an adjunct professor at your local CoCo. Your interactions with students will help develop your empathy.&lt;p&gt;People love to talk about themselves. You can take advantage of that to practice empathy.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>matwood</author><text>Basically practice &amp;quot;How to Win Friends and Influence People.&amp;quot;</text></comment>
<story><title>Ask HN: What non-technical skills make a senior dev and how to develop them?</title></story><parent_chain><item><author>OliverJones</author><text>Empathy is the key skill. Yes, it&amp;#x27;s learned.&lt;p&gt;The ability to walk in somebody else&amp;#x27;s shoes for a while makes you a better developer. Why?&lt;p&gt;* You acquire the habit of imagining what it&amp;#x27;s like to use the stuff you develop.&lt;p&gt;* You have a feel for the daily experience of your colleagues, suppliers, executives and other stakeholders.&lt;p&gt;These things give you the sort of spidey-sense that lets you function independently. They also give you the ability to enlist other people to get things done.&lt;p&gt;How can you learn empathy? Like any skill, it takes practice.&lt;p&gt;--Listen to strangers. The question &amp;quot;what are you doing this afternoon&amp;quot; asked at lunch will usually get an interesting response.  Interject &amp;quot;wow&amp;quot; - like sounds to keep them talking.&lt;p&gt;--Seek opportunities to meet end-users of your stuff. (Ask sales people to take you along on calls if that&amp;#x27;s appropriate). Observe their work.&lt;p&gt;--Ask your executives and project managers questions like, &amp;quot;what keeps you awake at night?&amp;quot; And listen to the answers.&lt;p&gt;--Teach. It doesn&amp;#x27;t matter whether you teach short courses or get a night job as an adjunct professor at your local CoCo. Your interactions with students will help develop your empathy.&lt;p&gt;People love to talk about themselves. You can take advantage of that to practice empathy.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>3pt14159</author><text>I&amp;#x27;ve found &amp;quot;what&amp;#x27;d you get up to this weekend&amp;quot; to be a great conversation starter because most people have done at least one fun thing over the weekend.</text></comment>