What makes a great BA?

IMO there are 3 qualities

- Listening
- Stakeholder engagement/management
- Ability to break down complex problems into smaller simpler problems

LISTENING
BA work is predominantly about working with people.
BAs will engage to try and understand underlying problems or issues, sometimes working as a go-between different teams. A lot can be learnt about people, teams and culture through not just explicit words, but also by paying attention to implicit undertones of spoken/written text and body language.

Thus
STAKEHOLDER MGMT
Fundamentally, good BA work is all about stakeholder management.
Building rapport with different stakeholder types and end-customers.
Project acceptance and successful outcomes rely very heavily on how well stakeholders were kept engaged throughout. An engaged stakeholder will often play the good advocate.

Thus
BIG PROBLEMS --> small PROBLEMS
Being able to break big problems into smaller problem statements or process flows can greatly assist in understanding the wider context of a team/user's perspective.
A fundamental skill: is to understand an issue and then re-explain to the same user, or different users.

The above is from my own personal experience and working with other talented BAs.

If you think differently, let me know.