Working with Leaders and Stakeholders in Product Management Transformation
Product Management teams are under constant pressure to innovate and deliver value to customers and their business. The complexities of modern product development and the never-ending flow of feedback from other departments makes it extremely challenging to produce great work that drives outcomes. We work with Product leaders committed to a more collaborative, outcome-focused approach and help them build process, practice, and skills. But without the active involvement of their stakeholders and senior leadership in supporting these changes, even the best planned transformation efforts can fail from resistance, misalignment, and ultimately the desire to return to ‘business as usual.’
The Role of Stakeholders
Product Managers can’t deliver on their KPIs without the help of everyone else. That is why stakeholder alignment is one of the most commonly cited problems by Product Managers operating in any industry or company size. Flipping the coin, great relationships with stakeholders facilitates great Product Management.
High functioning cross functional teams can yield:
- Faster Time to Money: Prioritization and focus on solving the right problems that drive outcomes.
- Effective Resourcing: Products have the necessary financial, technological, or team resources to succeed.
- Innovation: Diverse perspectives and ongoing feedback help product teams iterate and refine solutions, increasing the likelihood of achieving product-market fit.
The Role of Leaders
There is a reason why all change efforts need a senior leader champion. It’s because of the need for clear vision and direction, and fast resolution to the daily conflicts and decisions that need to be made. Leaders help communicate changes to a larger audience, and get buy in and budget. This helps Product teams:
- Overcome Resistance: When stakeholders lose the ability to get their one-off projects worked on in product, there can be a lot of resistance. Leaders can communicate their commitment to the change and reduce unhealthy politicking.
- Resource Commitment: Leaders have the authority to commit the necessary investment for change such as funding for new tools or time for training and development.
Working Everyone into Your Change Management Plan
With years of experience in product management, our expert team know it is not enough to uplevel the Product team skills and practices. If the rest of the organization is not in lockstep with required changes, they will reject it. That is why we have built a transformation journey that integrates change management best practices and includes everyone in the organization.
Course Highlight: Critical Importance of Product Management
When we engage on a transformation effort, the ideal first step is to work with the senior leaders- either C-suite or their direct reports. The “Critical Importance of Product Management” workshop is a highly customized and interactive 2-4 hour session. We create an agenda that surfaces current problems and expectations of company leaders and introduce product management concepts. Leaders leave the workshop with a plan on how they can support product practices within their organization to drive business objectives.
What You’ll Learn:
- The impact of poor product practices and the cost to the business.
- Differences between high and low-performing product teams.
- Clarity on roles and responsibilities within product teams.
- The Productside Blueprint and its application in your company.
- Strategies for supporting product team transformation.
Get leadership bought in on the Critical Importance of Product Management.
Course Highlight: Product Management Collaboration for Stakeholders
“Product Management Collaboration for Stakeholders,” is an 8-hour immersive experience that brings cross-functional teams together. This course helps teams achieve common goals using product management concepts to align outcomes and strengthen collaboration.
What You’ll Learn:
- Understand high-quality product management and its value to the business.
- Clearly define the relationship between you and the product team.
- Learn to plan and execute collaborative efforts across the product lifecycle.
- Play an active role in driving innovation within your company.
See an overview of Product Management Collaboration for Stakeholders course.
Conclusion
Transforming your product management organization requires more than just upskilling your team. It demands a holistic approach that includes leadership and stakeholder alignment. Our product management courses are designed to ensure everyone in your company is working towards shared business outcomes.
Ready to transform your product management organization? Learn More about our courses and how they can help your team achieve success.
