They’re not. Despite what the analyst wishes, this isn’t often a sought-after interaction.
They’re anxious.
A little bit fearful.
Yet also quietly relieved.
And keen to get things done already.
But worried about changing.
Stressed about the cost.
Thinking about opportunity lost or gained.
Concerned about what happens next.
Worried about their customers.
The business analyst is a hurdle (sometimes with a water jump) on the way to their goal. And much of what the business analyst does is simply superfluous, a roll of red-tape, because it simply slows progress towards the already known need.
If you think about projects in organisations, most of the people who are allocated a business analyst to attend to their problem get one by being assigned whoever the next available person is.
Given that, here’s what I’d ask a Business Analyst seeking better: How will you choose to show up for the business? Will you listen and relate? Will you investigate and probe? Will you work to deliver better, faster, more value?
Just as no one needs a drill bit, no one needs a business analyst. What stakeholders need and want is what it feels like to reach the place an analyst can take them to.
(And the same thing is true for business managers, for service providers, and probably for you…)
Like business analysts, most of us do our best work when we deal in empathy, not functions.