For us, product strategy stems from company strategy, so it's first important to have a firm grasp on where the company strategy is headed holistacally, and why. Additionally, we serve as a partner function for the entire ProdDev org, so rather than owning a specific segment of the product, we're responsible for helping the company zoom out a bit to identify key areas that could make sense to invest in.
As a result, when working with our exec team it's critical to understand both the company strategy & priorities, functional strategy & priorities, as well as the audience we're communicating with. Similar to working with customers, no conversation is one size fits all. It's critical to understand how to communicate at the right altitude, align your recommendations to existing priorities, and understand how to listen / iterate on feedback to achieve the best outcomes.
Some specific advice for influencing leadership, whether at the executive or other levels would be:
- Clearly define how your suggestions accelerate the achievement of goals you know they care about
- Proactively provide the appropriate framework / structure to assist their analysis of your recommendations
- Invite / proactively think through the devil's advocate perspective to your recommendations
- Possibly most important of all, be clear about what you're asking them to contribute to / decide on