What are your key objectives and questions when meeting a new stakeholder, either with them or yourself as a new hire?

This is one of the most fun parts of being a PM. When meeting a new stakeholder, a key objective is to understand their perspective and priorities. You'll want to figure out what they really care about and what they're trying to achieve within the company. What are their incentives? Do you need to manage those incentives in your work? Finally, ask questions to grasp their vision and strategy for getting there. Another crucial objective is to start building a working relationship. This means list ...Read More

My objectives when meeting new stakeholders are centered around finding out more about them as a person and how they like to work, understanding their objectives, and getting feedback from them about what their experience with my team, function, and the broader organization has been. Here are some details about why and how I dig into these topics: Personal - I find it’s easier to build relationships and avoid some negative behaviors and experiences with people at work when you put in the effort ...Read More

Lts flip this around - what are the questions our new partners are thinking of, but probably will not ask us? I can gaurantee there are at least four: Will I like working with this person? Can I trust this person? What change is this person going to create? Do we have the same expectations about how we work together? I am framing things this way for two reasons. First, the primary objective when meeting new partners is always to lay down a foundation of trust. A great way to start building that ...Read More

I would recommend slightly different objectives based on whom you are meeting and building a relationship with, here's the big categories I'd consider with the objectives: Product, Design, Engineering, Data but not in your direct team - the goal here is to build a great collaborative relationship. Whether they are more senior/ junior, or working a different part of the organization. You want to focus on building trust, understanding and an open line of communication. Additionally, you want to ge ...Read More

There is no right answer to this. But there is a good way to at least have a basic idea that will inform the next stage of the interaction. What matters to me, is who they are, how they think, how they deal with pressure and what value can be added. Personal I aim to understand their communication style, values, and preferences to ensure a productive relationship. This sets the tone for trust and openness which is a keystone for collaboration. I ask myself: How can I build rapport and ensure we ...Read More