AMA: SurveyMonkey Senior Director, Head of Product & Lifecycle Marketing, Morgan (Molnar) Lehmann on Stakeholder Management

Honestly, just ask them for what you need! It will make them better PMs to understand what’s involved/required for successful product marketing. There are certain things, like what problem(s) the feature solves for the customer or why our way is better than the competition is simple good product management, not just fundamentals for product marketing. If your team consistently calls this out as a problem, PMM and PM leadership can get involved in co-outlining a product launch brief— what’s inclu ...Read More

Managing timelines is a fundamental part of cross-functional project management. For any project to be a success, everyone needs to know who is doing what and by when. Here are some tips for sticking to your timelines. Start with your final launch date and work backwards. Make sure that launch date is clearly and frequently stated so everyone know what they’re marching towards. It helps when this is immovable (like a public event date). Know the dependencies. When are final assets due? What’s th ...Read More

One of the MOST critical parts of onboarding (honestly for any employee, new to the company or even internal promotion) is establishing relationships quickly. When I bring on a new hire, one the the main sections of their onboarding plan is booking 1:1 time with people to do an informal meet & greet in the first 30-60 days. I prepare a list of key partners they’ll work with more frequently (like product, marketing, and sales partners) plus peripheral partners they may work with less frequent ...Read More

I truly do believe in continuous, in-the-moment feedback. Though I might be biased as someone who has worked at a feedback company for about a decade… :-P This philosophy is best for performance / partnership feedback. That said, you can get stuck in feedback cycles that, if not managed well, can delay a project. Here are some tips for managing project feedback: Define & align on the DACI/RACI, or whatever you use to outline drivers, collaborators, reviewers/approvers, and those that just ne ...Read More

We’re definitely a company that prefers slides, the occasional memo, or informational email. So definitely take your company culture into account. Here are 10 ways I adjust my communication for an executive audience: Know what you want to accomplish. Is it just a progress update on something the audience is aware of? A strategy share out? A business case for a new initiative? Will you be asking for resources?  Take the presentation on a mini roadshow first. Whatever the case may be in #1, leader ...Read More

For me it has been Product, but it’s been dependent on who my counterpart was. Some PMs and product leaders are better collaborators than others. I’m a big fan of radical candor (coined by Kim Scott). If you don’t think something is working, it’s best to address it directly head-on, but also with care for the other person. I also really love the Level 1-3 conversation framework laid out by Amy Wong in her book Always on Purpose (she’s also an awesome group leadership coach). You can move to a pl ...Read More

The way this is worded makes me think of Pinky and the Brain trying to take over the world. I answered a similar question about how to build relationships with stakeholders as a new hire. When I think about influence, what comes to mind is having a seat at the table for decisions other teams own. The classic example for PMM is influencing the product roadmap.  Here’s how I’d break down what you need to do to have more influence: Learn where the “ins” are. What’s the process and who gets involved ...Read More