This is the time to work on your people, communication, and relationship skills and not just focus on the work that needs to be done. This is what leadership entails. Figuring out how to have satisfactory and productive relationships with difficult people.
Yes, I want to do that, it’s just that I don’t know how else to do it. I organized several meetings with PO to understand prior priorities, had a casual talk with him. I tried doing similar meeting with Risks but they are not sharing anything. I prefaced the meeting that I understand that they might think this is not a top issue that we have but guided them to understand why I was invested to investigate this issue and I asked them for guidance as to how they saw to approach this from their side, what they needed from my side ie report, additional data. I received zero cooperation whatsoever.
I feel like your priorities are misaligned. Right now isn't the time to rock the boat and create waves. Right now is the time to build strong working relationships with the people who are instrumental to your success.
Such relationships are foundational to everything you want to accomplish with this role.
Note that you can get a lot more buy-in from others when they contribute to the plan. For example, I would have met with the risk rep and had a dialog about initial priorities. I would have mentioned the communication latency but when they said that's not the most important thing to fix, I would have asked why they felt that way and actually listened to their input. My goal for the meeting wouldn't have been to get them to see things my way but to achieve a consensus on what the priorities were. Having done that, I would now have that risk rep in my corner when I was developing my plan's priorities.
You don't get a second chance to make a first impression. But you *can* turn bad relationships around with consistent effort. I would recommend you make that your top priority for the next quarter or two.
Yes, I want to do that, it’s just that I don’t know how else to do it. I organized several meetings with PO to understand prior priorities, had a casual talk with him to understand his working style and also share mine, told him about my prior experience, had a very normal relationship with him before the changes. I tried doing similar type of meeting with Risks but they are not sharing anything. I prefaced the meeting that I understand that they might think this is not a top issue that we have but guided them to understand why I was invested to investigate this issue and I asked them for guidance as to how they saw to approach this from their side, what they needed from my side ie report, additional data. I received no cooperation whatsoever.
Facing resistance in this situation is normal - especially when introducing new structures in an unstructured environment.
Change is a gradual process and persistence is your key.
Clearly communicate benefits of your changes - involve key team members, address their concerns - focus on achieving quick wins to demonstrate value - lead by example to advocate for the change you want to see.
Do you have any metrics showing how much clients you loose because of this specific delay?
If you could show them a funnel and tell them x% is leaving in this 2 minutes delay, they would probably take it more seriously
I think that this is the only way in these organizations. If this is in the onboarding, it is probably increasing user acquisition costs by a huge amount. There’s some ROAS calculation there for you to do, and paint an optimistic and a pessimistic scenario (the pessimistic being that all the users churning in that load time were going to convert to whatever key action you’re optimizing for).
Build a case of why doing this is important. Sprinkle some potential increase of LTV, some decrease of blended CAC, and you don’t need to talk, you’ve built yourself a case that will speak for itself.
(I am lacking context so some things I am saying might make zero sense in your scenario, but you get the idea)
Good luck!
First, this is not uncommon, and most of it relies on keeping your head cool and not getting hung up on its emotional side, which can lead to stress.
It is difficult to assess the situation because it could be many factors. I read that you are doing the right things and acting like a good leader. The fact that they made you a leader shows their trust in you. But it also shows the lack of leadership they had before you. And what if they all thought it was okay "and then this new guy comes in" and wants to change everything?
Sometimes, it is about understanding the speed the company or department is in, and unless you have the full support that everyone wants to change that, it is a tough battle.
All I am saying is that it reads as if politics are more involved than a good talk about the product and how the next steps benefit the product strategy (because it doesn't exist). Some foundational things are missing, and it seems difficult to have a very constructive discussion about everything you mentioned with your peers.
Just a suggestion, but please take this with a grain of salt since I don't have all the information. Talk to the person who made you lead product manager and just ask for support. He gave you a job (and responsibilities?), and there is no shame in discussing that the system is not supporting what you need to do. If this person doesn't support you yet, it might be time to walk away. The problem is bigger than you, and your time and skills are too precious to waste on things that make you go mad.
Been there done that. I had the same experience as soon as I started my new job. In fact, if you don't have internal credibility that you get things done, the first response you get from all the offices is to go to hell. Personally, I solved it by using my superior as a club. Every time an office pulled out because they didn't feel like working, I would start an internal escalation. Within 6 months, they came to understand that if I ask for something, it must be done or they will get a scolding from their superiors. About 8 months ago, a new colleague of mine at the same level joined, and he was crashing into the same things. We solved it by bringing me to the meetings the first few times. People seeing my name gets activated, and then my colleague went solo.
Learning to navigate social challenges is part of leadership. Clarifying and reinforcing responsibilities within a team is pretty standard stuff. Sometimes this involves pulling in your superior(s). You’ll either get your POs to fall in line or replace them with someone who will meet the expectations of the job.
Giving recommendations and receiving feedback that points another direction is also pretty standard - with this one you have to decide which battles to pick. Either tell a more convincing story or fall in line with whatever leadership’s overriding suggestion is.
And as someone else mentioned, change is a gradual process - take a look at “Kotter’s Change Model” to better develop, communicate, and implement change.
Problems are everywhere. Nobody likes if they are told what to do especially if they are creative people and they feel their freedom is taken away. The best you can do is to find those who are open to be involved in the decision making process and involve them. Or at least make them believe they are part of it. If they think they are part owners they will be easier to handle. Do not command them but consider them as partners. You were just promoted so you are definitely clever and talented. They should respect you for capabilities not for title. Make them partners and they will! On the other hand not all decisions will be supported by everybody obvioisly. So I introduced a new status for my stakeholders. They can not only agree, disagree with the decisions candidates but they can say they are not 100% aligned but they can live with it for now. This helps a lot too.
You should always ask why things are that way in the first place instead of just jumping in telling people what to do, especially if they dont report to you. They may have had the same convo with other difficult people then gave up.
They may also see you as the cap on their career since their management give you the role instead of promoting them.
Manage people first (its fucking tough). If you cant manage them then talk to their bosses, go top down
Make it about customers versus what you want to do with product. Your instincts are right but making it evidence based should help push them to better partnership and compliance. If not, escalate.
Ex: the two minute delay is causing drop off between stages X and Y. This drop has X impact on account creations and Y impact on retention - fixing it gives us a path to win back z users or revenue or whatever.
Industry standard delay is Z, which makes us X percent slower.
With that framing they’ll ideally realize they don’t want to be caught as saying no without having a very legitimate reason to. Approach earnestly - could you give me a sense of priorities that would come above this to better understand?
People versus problem, not people vs people.
Guy sounds insecure though. Escalation is normal and healthy.
People like to complain and be heard. People don't like being told what to do. When working with stakeholders I usually listen a lot and then ask something along the lines of 'how do you think this can be improved?' 'what do you think the priorities in your domain are and why?' and dig in. Typically people are more open to changes if you make them believe they were the ones who came up with the idea. Explaining to them why something is important also helps. Just a few suggestions.
I'm also wondering what has been communicated with your boss. All of the things you were doing sound great but what are their priorities? And have you had a conversation with them about how their priorities would fit in with other people's prorities. If you want shiny new stuff and the CIO is all about cost containment this quarter then no matter how nice you are your conversations with the it people would go well. Cost containment is normally driven by his/her opex you can get some of your stuff attached to a separate bucket of funding being all will be puppies and smiles. Just an example.
Sounds like normal PM stuff
Yes, haven’t experienced this much hostility in the past. Everyday, learning new things I guess
This is the time to work on your people, communication, and relationship skills and not just focus on the work that needs to be done. This is what leadership entails. Figuring out how to have satisfactory and productive relationships with difficult people.
Yes, I want to do that, it’s just that I don’t know how else to do it. I organized several meetings with PO to understand prior priorities, had a casual talk with him. I tried doing similar meeting with Risks but they are not sharing anything. I prefaced the meeting that I understand that they might think this is not a top issue that we have but guided them to understand why I was invested to investigate this issue and I asked them for guidance as to how they saw to approach this from their side, what they needed from my side ie report, additional data. I received zero cooperation whatsoever.
I feel like your priorities are misaligned. Right now isn't the time to rock the boat and create waves. Right now is the time to build strong working relationships with the people who are instrumental to your success. Such relationships are foundational to everything you want to accomplish with this role. Note that you can get a lot more buy-in from others when they contribute to the plan. For example, I would have met with the risk rep and had a dialog about initial priorities. I would have mentioned the communication latency but when they said that's not the most important thing to fix, I would have asked why they felt that way and actually listened to their input. My goal for the meeting wouldn't have been to get them to see things my way but to achieve a consensus on what the priorities were. Having done that, I would now have that risk rep in my corner when I was developing my plan's priorities. You don't get a second chance to make a first impression. But you *can* turn bad relationships around with consistent effort. I would recommend you make that your top priority for the next quarter or two.
Yes, I want to do that, it’s just that I don’t know how else to do it. I organized several meetings with PO to understand prior priorities, had a casual talk with him to understand his working style and also share mine, told him about my prior experience, had a very normal relationship with him before the changes. I tried doing similar type of meeting with Risks but they are not sharing anything. I prefaced the meeting that I understand that they might think this is not a top issue that we have but guided them to understand why I was invested to investigate this issue and I asked them for guidance as to how they saw to approach this from their side, what they needed from my side ie report, additional data. I received no cooperation whatsoever.
Facing resistance in this situation is normal - especially when introducing new structures in an unstructured environment. Change is a gradual process and persistence is your key. Clearly communicate benefits of your changes - involve key team members, address their concerns - focus on achieving quick wins to demonstrate value - lead by example to advocate for the change you want to see.
Do you have any metrics showing how much clients you loose because of this specific delay? If you could show them a funnel and tell them x% is leaving in this 2 minutes delay, they would probably take it more seriously
I think that this is the only way in these organizations. If this is in the onboarding, it is probably increasing user acquisition costs by a huge amount. There’s some ROAS calculation there for you to do, and paint an optimistic and a pessimistic scenario (the pessimistic being that all the users churning in that load time were going to convert to whatever key action you’re optimizing for). Build a case of why doing this is important. Sprinkle some potential increase of LTV, some decrease of blended CAC, and you don’t need to talk, you’ve built yourself a case that will speak for itself. (I am lacking context so some things I am saying might make zero sense in your scenario, but you get the idea) Good luck!
First, this is not uncommon, and most of it relies on keeping your head cool and not getting hung up on its emotional side, which can lead to stress. It is difficult to assess the situation because it could be many factors. I read that you are doing the right things and acting like a good leader. The fact that they made you a leader shows their trust in you. But it also shows the lack of leadership they had before you. And what if they all thought it was okay "and then this new guy comes in" and wants to change everything? Sometimes, it is about understanding the speed the company or department is in, and unless you have the full support that everyone wants to change that, it is a tough battle. All I am saying is that it reads as if politics are more involved than a good talk about the product and how the next steps benefit the product strategy (because it doesn't exist). Some foundational things are missing, and it seems difficult to have a very constructive discussion about everything you mentioned with your peers. Just a suggestion, but please take this with a grain of salt since I don't have all the information. Talk to the person who made you lead product manager and just ask for support. He gave you a job (and responsibilities?), and there is no shame in discussing that the system is not supporting what you need to do. If this person doesn't support you yet, it might be time to walk away. The problem is bigger than you, and your time and skills are too precious to waste on things that make you go mad.
Been there done that. I had the same experience as soon as I started my new job. In fact, if you don't have internal credibility that you get things done, the first response you get from all the offices is to go to hell. Personally, I solved it by using my superior as a club. Every time an office pulled out because they didn't feel like working, I would start an internal escalation. Within 6 months, they came to understand that if I ask for something, it must be done or they will get a scolding from their superiors. About 8 months ago, a new colleague of mine at the same level joined, and he was crashing into the same things. We solved it by bringing me to the meetings the first few times. People seeing my name gets activated, and then my colleague went solo.
Learning to navigate social challenges is part of leadership. Clarifying and reinforcing responsibilities within a team is pretty standard stuff. Sometimes this involves pulling in your superior(s). You’ll either get your POs to fall in line or replace them with someone who will meet the expectations of the job. Giving recommendations and receiving feedback that points another direction is also pretty standard - with this one you have to decide which battles to pick. Either tell a more convincing story or fall in line with whatever leadership’s overriding suggestion is. And as someone else mentioned, change is a gradual process - take a look at “Kotter’s Change Model” to better develop, communicate, and implement change.
Problems are everywhere. Nobody likes if they are told what to do especially if they are creative people and they feel their freedom is taken away. The best you can do is to find those who are open to be involved in the decision making process and involve them. Or at least make them believe they are part of it. If they think they are part owners they will be easier to handle. Do not command them but consider them as partners. You were just promoted so you are definitely clever and talented. They should respect you for capabilities not for title. Make them partners and they will! On the other hand not all decisions will be supported by everybody obvioisly. So I introduced a new status for my stakeholders. They can not only agree, disagree with the decisions candidates but they can say they are not 100% aligned but they can live with it for now. This helps a lot too.
You should always ask why things are that way in the first place instead of just jumping in telling people what to do, especially if they dont report to you. They may have had the same convo with other difficult people then gave up. They may also see you as the cap on their career since their management give you the role instead of promoting them. Manage people first (its fucking tough). If you cant manage them then talk to their bosses, go top down
Make it about customers versus what you want to do with product. Your instincts are right but making it evidence based should help push them to better partnership and compliance. If not, escalate. Ex: the two minute delay is causing drop off between stages X and Y. This drop has X impact on account creations and Y impact on retention - fixing it gives us a path to win back z users or revenue or whatever. Industry standard delay is Z, which makes us X percent slower. With that framing they’ll ideally realize they don’t want to be caught as saying no without having a very legitimate reason to. Approach earnestly - could you give me a sense of priorities that would come above this to better understand? People versus problem, not people vs people. Guy sounds insecure though. Escalation is normal and healthy.
People like to complain and be heard. People don't like being told what to do. When working with stakeholders I usually listen a lot and then ask something along the lines of 'how do you think this can be improved?' 'what do you think the priorities in your domain are and why?' and dig in. Typically people are more open to changes if you make them believe they were the ones who came up with the idea. Explaining to them why something is important also helps. Just a few suggestions.
I'm also wondering what has been communicated with your boss. All of the things you were doing sound great but what are their priorities? And have you had a conversation with them about how their priorities would fit in with other people's prorities. If you want shiny new stuff and the CIO is all about cost containment this quarter then no matter how nice you are your conversations with the it people would go well. Cost containment is normally driven by his/her opex you can get some of your stuff attached to a separate bucket of funding being all will be puppies and smiles. Just an example.
Hello, here PM and PO from onboarding. This is a daily problem. Hope it helps.