The Intentional Product Manager Podcast

Are you a high-performing product manager looking to reach the next level of success in your product career?

Shobhit Chugh will show you how.

Shobhit left a full-time roll at Google to help ambitious product managers position themselves to become product leaders, so they can raise their income as much as 50%, command the respect their hard work deserves, and make an impact they can truly be proud of.

To learn more about how to take your product management career talk to us at https://www.intentionalproductmanager.com/apply

All Episodes

The Intentional Product Manager Podcast

Success With Stakeholders

November 26, 2024 • Shobhit Chugh • Season 1 • Episode 5

Join Shobhit Chugh from Intentional Product Manager with special guests Bruce McCarthy and Melissa Appel, co-authors of Aligned: Stakeholder Management for Product Leaders. This episode offers actionable insights to help you manage stakeholders, build trust, and navigate decision-making cultures. Plus, discover the surprising benefits of "mining for conflict."

Key Takeaways

00:00 Meet the authors: Bruce McCarthy and Melissa Appel
00:44 The Story Behind the Book: How Aligned was born
01:08 Challenges in stakeholder management: When to say “yes” and “no”
03:28 Building rapport: Why understanding stakeholders is as crucial as understanding customers
05:04 The importance of organizational fit: Identifying hidden roadblocks to career growth
08:15 Communicating effectively: Strengthening relationships between product and sales
11:00 Positioning yourself for promotions and identifying influential "power players"
13:13 Learning from others: Gaining diverse perspectives to craft well-rounded strategies
15:00 Building comfortable, meaningful relationships
15:58 Practicing empathy: Reflecting stakeholder language for clarity and connection
17:00 Turning difficult relationships around: Finding common ground and bridging divides
19:45 Earning a seat at the executive table: Building and maintaining executive relationships
21:00 Mastering “the meeting before the meeting”: Setting up for success
22:48 Decision-making cultures: Identifying decision-makers and distinguishing alignment vs. agreement
26:30 Mining for conflict: Using strategic disagreement to foster psychological safety and alignment
33:37 Trends in product leadership: Balancing empathy with founder-driven dynamics
35:12 Hiring insights: Attracting top talent in competitive markets
37:13 Where to find more about the book and authors
38:22 Closing thoughts

Discover how to deepen relationships, boost your organizational impact, and drive success for your product and company.

Learn more about Shobhit Chugh at intentionalproductmanager.com and connect on LinkedIn.

Learn more about Bruce McCarthy at Product Culture or connect on LinkedIn.

Learn more about Melissa Appel at Product Culture or connect on LinkedIn.

Get Bruce and Melissa’s book “Aligned: Stakeholder Management for Product Leaders”