AMA: Stripe Product Lead, Rishabh Dave on Stakeholder Management

The three important soft-skills for product managers to cultivate in their careers are: 1. Communication (writing, public speaking, persuasion, listening): Product managers need to convey their ideas clearly, actively listen, gain support and key various teams and departments. Strong communication skills help in conveying product vision, requirements, and feedback; some tips to getting better at communication: 1. Practice writing on a regular basis and seek feedback from colleagues who are good in this area 2. Volunteer to help with big presentations and product reviews 3. Join toastmasters club or take an improv class to work on public speaking skills 4. Participate in peer groups that review books well-written documents, presentations, etc 5. Read books, listen to audio books, or follow podcasts on communication skills 2. Relationships - As product managers work closely with stakeholders, designers, engineers, marketers, and other team members, fostering strong relationships is key in facilitating effective teamwork and cross-functional alignment; some tips to build strong relationships: 1. Socialize and connect at a personal level. by inviting folks to grab coffee or lunch, inquire about their hobbies, interests, etc 2. Prioritize regular 1:1 meetings to foster open communication and understanding 3. Attend networking events, join relevant communities or groups, and seek mentorship opportunities 3. Emotional Intelligence - Emotional intelligence helps in influencing, collaborating and managing teams with empathy and understanding. PMs need to understand their own emotions, as well as those of others, to navigate interpersonal dynamics, build effective relationships, and handle conflicts; some tips to build strong emotional intelligence: 1. Participate in support and user research calls to better understand users' or customers’ challenges 2. Offer a listening ear and express empathy when colleagues are facing difficulties 3. Build trust by consistently following through on commitments 4. Seek feedback from trusted colleagues or mentors to gain insights into how your emotions and behaviors impact others 5. Approach conflicts with a calm and composed demeanor and focus on resolving them

Product intuition, also known as product sense, is the ability to understand what makes a product great and enables product managers to make effective decisions in ambiguous situations. It encompasses 3 key aspects: Empathy, Domain Knowledge (customers, competition, etc) and problem solving. 1. Empathy - Ability to view the world from the point of view of products' users, partners or competitors. PMs with strong product intuition can anticipate how users would react in various situations and understand their perspectives, needs, and behaviors 2. Domain Knowledge - Knowledge about customers, users, competition, opportunities, and trends 3. Problem solving - Ability to come up with innovative ideas to address challenges or solve problems To build good product sense, consider the following approaches: 1. Talk to users and customers: Engage in meaningful conversations and conduct user research to understand needs, pain points, and expectations. 2. Learn about user psychology: Understand the underlying motivations and decision-making processes of users. This knowledge will help shape user experiences and influence product decisions. 3. Perform detailed breakdowns: Explore a variety of products, analyze their features, user experiences, and design choices. Identify what works well and what could be improved, and apply those insights to your own product. 4. Stay updated on industry trends, best practices, case studies, and thought leadership within your domain

TL;DR - Align on a framework that helps identify roles & responsibilities Decision making is often unclear in tech companies due to rapidly changing technology, company culture, complex & interconnected systems and matrixed org structures. This often leads to following challenges: 1. Conflicts - Complex decisions involving multiple inputs or x-functional partners often lack clear roles and process resulting in conflicts and disagreements 2. Decision revaluation - When a decision is made, it’s often litigated behind closed doors leading to lack of confidence in decision makers 3. Protracted decision making - Absence of a consistent approach such as templates or dedicated forums can cause decisions to drag indefinitely To promote efficient decision making, it is crucial that teams align on a framework that identifies clear roles and responsibilities. There are several popular frameworks that teams can leverage, such as the RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) model and the RAPID (Recommend, Agree, Perform, Input, Decide) framework. These frameworks provide structured guidance on assigning responsibilities and involving relevant stakeholders in the decision-making process. * RACI (https://monday.com/blog/project-management/raci-model/) * RAPID (https://fourweekmba.com/rapid-framework/) Lastly, having a well-defined framework is important, however, its effectiveness will be determined by execution and application.

Vision -> Ownership -> Clear expectations -> Progress -> Feedback It is very common for PM’s to lead initiatives where the members in the working group don’t report to them. My approach towards managing team members who do not directly report to me while ensuring that the initiatives stays on track and folks are motivated involves following steps: 1. Compelling vision - Get the team excited by painting a compelling picture of the desired outcome and impact for the team members, users and the broader organization 2. Ownership - Foster an environment where team members feel like they can openly communicate and participate in decision-making. Encourage them to provide inputs and share accountability for the success of the initiative 3. Clear expectations and goals - Define objectives, timelines, and deliverables around shared goals. Ensure team members understand their specific roles and responsibilities 4. Track progress and provide feedback - Monitor progress through regular check-ins and hold team members accountable for their commitments. Provide timely feedback to identify corrective actions, and realign the team if needed

Product Management is centered around people and the effectiveness of a PM in cultivating relationships with others directly impacts the quality of the product. Some of the steps tactics that can help build successful relationships are: 1. Invest time in building connections: Dedicate time to 1:1 meetings with individuals from various functions and use these meetings to establish personal connections, understand their perspectives, and foster trust and camaraderie. Foster trust and actively listen to their challenges, aspirations, and how you can support them. Establish a schedule for regular touchpoints beyond formal meetings to better relate to each individual and build stronger relationships. 2. Understand their motivation: Take the initiative to understand the priorities, challenges, and expertise of each function. This'll help you build empathy and enable better collaboration by appreciating the unique contributions and constraints of each team. Learn about their personalities, work styles, preferences, motivations, and perspectives. 3. Involve stakeholders early: Engage stakeholders from different functions at the early stages of the decision-making process. Seek their input, involve them in discussions, and include them in problem-solving activities. This'll ensure that other voices are heard, increase ownership, and collaboration. 4. Recognize contributions: Take the time to recognize and celebrate successful projects or interactions with your peers as it's essential to pause and appreciate accomplishments.Offer specific feedback on what you liked and found valuable. Additionally, regularly seek feedback from others to ensure continuous growth. 5. Establish clear roles and responsibilities: To avoid misunderstandings and conflicts, define and communicate the roles and responsibilities of each function involved in the partnership. This'll ensure everyone involved will understand their specific contributions and prevent friction caused by overlapping or unclear responsibilities.

There is no one-size-fits-all structure for product teams as organizations have different setups based on their needs, maturity, customer segments and nature of products & services offered. Also fast growing companies often go through restructuring every 6 months with fluid org structures. Having said that, the question can be broken down into 2 aspects: 1. Product org setup within the company: There are different variations of this: * Independent product org: Product managers report into a Chief Product Officer (CPO) or VP of Product who is part of the leadership team, typically reporting to the CEO * Product rolls into another org: Similar structure as above but the product org rolls upto another function like Sales, Marketing, or Engineering * Product has other functions reporting into it: Design, Analytics, Engineering, etc may report into the Product org with the head of product/area acting as the business lead or general manager * No independent product org: PMs/group of PMs are embedded within teams like Engineering or Marketing rather than being part of a separate department 2. Sub-teams within the product org: * By product lines: Common for larger organizations where each product or product line has product manager(s) reporting to the head of product of the product line. e.g. PMs support UberEATS, and Rideshare roll upto their respective head of products who in turn report to a CPO * By features or solutions: Complex products may have teams dedicated for specific product functions or features, with product managers assigned accordingly. e.g. PMs of iOS app, PM for Payments, etc * By customer segment: Some organizations structure product teams around different customer segments, especially when serving diverse vertical markets. E.g. PMs on B2B segment, PMs focused on international markets, etc * By customer experience journey stage: Structuring teams based on specific metrics like growth, monetization, retention, etc Remember, these are just examples, and the structure of product teams can vary widely. It's important to be adaptable and flexible as the organization's needs evolve.

It's a tough situation if you, as a product manager, find yourself stuck in the middle without alignment. There are certain steps you can follow if you're in such a situation: 1. Seek early feedback: Engage with stakeholders beforehand to gauge their support, concerns, or opposition to your proposed strategy. Understand their priorities and address their feedback where possible early on 2. Present data and insights: Support your strategy with objective information such as data, user research, and market insights. Use these insights to provide a foundation for decision-making and guide the discussion 3. Act as a neutral facilitator: If you find yourself in middle of a disagreement, assume the role of a facilitator focused on finding the best outcome for the product and the organization. Maintain neutrality and avoid alienating execs 4. Utilize decision-making frameworks: Leverage decision-making frameworks like RACI or RAPID to establish clarity on who holds the final decision-making authority 5. Establish evaluation criteria: Identify the underlying concerns or unique perspectives of stakeholders and translate them into specific evaluation criteria 6. Provide a recommendation: Based on the evaluation criteria, offer a clear recommendation that takes into account the input and concerns of all stakeholders involved 7. Escalate (if necessary): If progress remains elusive, consider escalating the issue to your management chain or a higher authority. Seek guidance and support to resolve the impasse and ensure the decision-making process moves forward Reference: https://www.bain.com/insights/rapid-tool-to-clarify-decision-accountability/ https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/raci-chart/

Companies typically have well-defined criteria around levels and competencies to help measure a product manager's performance. The primary objective of a product manager is to deliver user value and drive business impact by building the right products. Here are common dimensions to assess PM's success: 1. Product metrics: Evaluate key metrics such as adoption, customer satisfaction, revenue growth, and other relevant performance indicators 2. Collaboration and stakeholder relationships: Assess the satisfaction of stakeholders, both internal teams and external partners, and their perception of the product manager's ability to collaborate effectively and drive cross-functional alignment 3. Learn and adopt: Product manager's growth through new skills acquired, additional responsibilities taken, and dealing with ambiguity 4. Communication and alignment: Effectiveness in communicating product strategies, goals, and plans, as well as their ability to navigate ambiguous situations and drive alignment across teams As PMs progress in their careers, their key performance indicators (KPIs) may evolve. While PM or Sr. PMs may focus on building foundational skills such as delivering product features and understanding user needs, as they advance, the emphasis often shifts towards leadership, strategy, and defining a longer-term product vision. Directors+ are assessed on their ability to lead strategic initiatives, influence organizational strategy, developing high-performing teams, and shaping the product culture within the organization.