What do you do if your attempts to assert yourself as a product manager are met with resistance?

If attempts to assert yourself as a product manager are met with resistance, it's essential to approach the situation with empathy, patience, and persistence. Take time to understand the concerns and perspectives of those resisting your leadership, and seek to address any underlying issues or misunderstandings through open dialogue and active listening. Communicate transparently about your vision, goals, and rationale behind decisions, emphasizing the value and benefits for the team and the organization as a whole. Build trust and credibility by delivering results & demonstrating your competence, expertise, and commitment to the team's success. Collaborate with key stakeholders to find common ground & identify opportunities for alignment.

1. Determine the root cause of resistance. Assess if resistance is due to personality conflicts, differing priorities or visions, a lack of trust, or other factors. 2. Conduct open discussions to understand the team's perspective. Listen carefully to their concerns, acknowledge valid points, and be willing to compromise when needed. 3. Build relationships and credibility. Spend time getting to know the team members to gain their trust. Demonstrate your expertise, understanding of the product, and commitment to the team's success. 4. Involve the team in decision-making. Collaboratively set product goals and priorities,and ensure team commitment by incorporating their suggestions and feedback into the product roadmap.

Schedule 1:1s: Talk directly with those resisting to understand their concerns and perspectives. Observe Team Dynamics: See who interacts well with you and who might need more convincing. Seek Feedback Anonymously: Consider anonymous surveys to gather honest opinions without judgment.

Resistance often stems from various reasons, be it distrust, differing goals, or fear of change. To tackle it, empathy is key. Listen attentively to their worries and feedback without assigning blame. Ask open-ended questions to grasp their perspectives fully. Understanding their motivations and concerns, as well as how they perceive your role, helps in finding common ground and addressing their needs effectively.

To overcome resistance as a product manager: Listen and Understand: Hear out concerns and address them empathetically. Build Trust: Cultivate relationships by demonstrating competence and reliability. Communicate Value: Clearly explain the benefits and reasoning behind your decisions. Find Common Ground: Seek alignment with stakeholders' goals and priorities. Adapt and Collaborate: Be flexible and open to feedback, involving others in decision-making. Advocate for Support: Rally backing from senior management or influential allies. Empower Your Team: Encourage collaboration and ownership among team members. Stay Persistent: Maintain determination and confidence in your vision. Explore Alternatives.

Highlight Your Value: Demonstrate how your product management expertise benefits the team and the product's success. Frame Your Suggestions Constructively: Focus on data and user research to back your ideas. Present your suggestions as collaborative efforts for improvement. Educate Others: If there's a lack of understanding about the PM role, explain your responsibilities and how they contribute to the overall product development process.

Emphasize the importance of clear and transparent communication. As a PM, it's crucial to articulate your vision, objectives, and rationale behind decisions effectively. This helps build trust and alignment within the team.

Resistance often arises when stakeholders, developers, or users fail to perceive the value of your product or decisions. To combat this, articulate your value proposition clearly. Illustrate how your product addresses a problem or fulfills a need. Highlight how decisions are rooted in data, research, and user input, aligning with business objectives. Employ storytelling, visuals, and metrics to make your message resonate effectively, fostering understanding and buy-in.

Emphasize Your Value: Showcase how your product management skills enhance team dynamics and drive product success. Present Suggestions Constructively: Ground your ideas in data and user research, framing them as collaborative enhancements. Educate on PM Role: Clarify your responsibilities and their impact on product development, fostering a deeper understanding of your role's significance within the team and organization.

If resistance stems from stakeholders not seeing the value of your product or decisions, clarify your value proposition. Articulate how your product addresses specific problems, fulfills needs, or unlocks new opportunities. Demonstrate how your choices are grounded in data, research, and user insights, aligning with broader business objectives and strategies. Employ storytelling, visuals, and metrics to make your value proposition more engaging and memorable, ensuring your audience understands and appreciates the significance and rationale behind your product and decisions.

This is key for me. You can't assert your vision because you're a product manager. You need to build a relationship with those you want to influence. Take your time to understand their world, listen first. You need to show patience as this can (and often will) take time. Be curious, understand your engineering counterparts' perspective and motivations. Be social, give credit when it's due. Be right more often than you're not, lead confidently but mindfully and your team will follow in time.

Find Allies: Identify others who share your vision and can advocate for your ideas. This could be designers, engineers, or even other PMs. Seek Support from Your Manager: If resistance persists, discuss the situation with your manager and seek their guidance. Focus on Shared Goals: Emphasize that everyone is working towards the same goal - a successful product.

Cultivate strong relationships with stakeholders across the organization. Investing time in understanding their needs, motivations, and pain points can facilitate smoother collaboration and garner support for your initiatives.

Wow! I’m certain that assertion is the wrong tactic to employ to establish yourself as the product manager in a team. IF it were the right tactic, assertion would be the act of merely waving your role, rank, tenure, experience etc. Building an empathetic team, united by a cause, is what a product manager must strive for. Resistance can be softened or completely removed through meaningful one on one conversations with the team. As a product manager, be open to listen to or even adopt better alternatives that the team provides. This would democratise the problem, increase the team’s involvement in the solution or open your eyes to things you may have missed. Aim to be “closer through consensus” as opposed to “alienated through assertion”.

Building trust is tough in any role. Invest time in positive relationships. Understand team members' strengths, preferences, and goals. Foster a supportive atmosphere where everyone feels valued. Listen actively to concerns without judgment. Find allies who share your vision. Be open about decisions, explaining the reasons behind them.

During my early PM days, I held strong convictions regarding the features and roadmap of my products. This assertiveness often clashed with the perspectives of senior stakeholders such as the Design Head, Engineering Head, and others. My relationships with these individuals soured, and impacted my rapport with my reporting manager. It was during this period of conflict that my reporting manager imparted a crucial lesson: "Choose your battles carefully. You cannot win all your battles" Recognizing the futility of trying to win every disagreement, I learned to prioritize the battles that truly mattered to me. This approach fostered a spirit of collaboration and compromise, leading to mutually acceptable solutions that benefited the team.

When facing resistance, negotiation and compromise can be key. Prepare thoroughly, understanding your objectives and your BATNA. Approach negotiations with flexibility, creativity, and respect, aiming for win-win solutions that align with both parties' interests. Avoid confrontational standoffs; view negotiation as a tool for fostering enduring relationships and trust, not just immediate gains. Effective negotiation as a product manager involves balancing firmness on essential issues with flexibility on less critical points, ensuring outcomes contribute to long-term success and collaboration.

As a product manager, exhibiting confidence and assertiveness is crucial. These aren't inherent traits but skills you can enhance. Confidence comes from trusting your abilities and recognizing your value. Assertiveness means clearly and respectfully communicating your views, emotions, and needs, setting boundaries, and advocating for yourself and your product. It's about being firm yet fair, not aggressive or submissive. Developing these qualities will earn you respect, credibility, and influence, allowing you to navigate challenges effectively and steer your product toward success.

Asserting yourself as a product manager requires confidence and assertiveness in communication and behavior. Confidence stems from believing in your skills and value. Assertiveness entails expressing thoughts, feelings, and needs clearly, respectfully, and confidently. It involves setting boundaries, saying no when necessary, and advocating for yourself and your product. These qualities earn respect, credibility, and influence, enhancing your effectiveness as a product manager.

Be assertive yet open-minded, Maintain a confident and assertive approach, but also be willing to listen to others' opinions and make changes when necessary.

As a product manager, facing resistance can be frustrating. You have a vision for the product, but getting everyone on board can feel like pulling teeth. Here's how I navigate those situations: Understand the "Why" Behind the Resistance: Is it a technical limitation? A budget concern? Maybe someone genuinely disagrees with the approach. Talk to the resistors one-on-one. Dig into their concerns and see things from their perspective. This not only builds trust but can also uncover blind spots in your own plan. Focus on Collaboration, Not Domination: Being a product manager isn't about dictating. It's about guiding the team towards a shared goal. Present your ideas with data, user research, and a clear understanding of the benefits.

Asserting is not about being aggressive or confrontational, but about confidently and clearly advocating for your product vision while being open to feedback and collaboration. 1. Assess whether your communication style or tone may be contributing to the resistance. 2. Understand the reasons. Is it due to a lack of understanding, fear of change, or political dynamics? 3. Emphasize the customer benefits and data-driven insights to support your product decisions. 4. Work with others to find common ground and listen to their perspectives to build consensus. 5. Lead by example through tangible results and progress. 6. Address conflicts or disagreements directly and constructively. 7. Know when to escalate

Adjust your approach by listening, finding common ground, and talking openly to turn resistance into cooperation, moving your plans forward smoothly.

Assertiveness isn't about being aggressive but confidently advocating for your product vision while welcoming feedback and collaboration. Assess your communication style's impact and understand resistance reasons, whether it's due to misunderstanding or other factors. Highlight customer benefits and data-driven insights. Seek common ground and listen to others to build consensus. Lead by example with tangible results and address conflicts constructively. Recognize when to escalate issues.

Facing resistance as a product manager? Shift your approach from asserting authority to focusing on common goals. Look for quick wins where you can add immediate value to your team and project. Demonstrating your commitment to solving problems together, without letting ego get in the way, builds trust and enhances your influence. Prove your worth through collaboration and results, not just titles.