Leading stakeholders and development teams is notoriously challenging for product people: They lack the power to tell the individuals what to do, but need their support to progress the product. To make things worse, stakeholders come from different departments and often have different perspectives and interests, which leads to disagreements and conflicts. This talk shares my tips for dealing with difficult stakeholders, constructively resolving conflict, and creating value together.

1. Roman Pichler
romanpichler.com
DEALING WITH
DIFFICULT STAKEHOLDERS
Tips for Product People

2. 2 © 2020 Pichler Consulting Limited
Product
Person
Development
Team(s)
Users and
Customers
Business
Stakeholders
This diagram is inspired by Martin Eriksson’s
definition of product management.

3. 3 © 2020 Pichler Consulting Limited
“Listen, I really need you to add this feature to
the release, and I am not going to take no for an
answer,” says Sophie, the head of sales, as she
stands in front of your desk. You can feel your
shoulders tensing and your stomach tightening.
There is no way that you can add more work to
the development effort—the dev team is
already struggling with the current workload.
But Sophie is a powerful senior manager who
will not be afraid to escalate the issue.
What should you do?

4. 4 © 2020 Pichler Consulting Limited
Common, Unhelpful Conflict Strategies
Based on Oren Jay Sofer, Say What You Mean.
Competitive
Confrontation
Engaging directly with
aggression or force.
Passive Aggression
Engaging indirectly by
expressing aversion while
pretending that all is well.
Conflict Avoidance
Attempting to avoid
addressing conflict,
staying out of it.
Passivity
Letting the other person
win, giving up your own
needs.

5. 5 © 2020 Pichler Consulting Limited
Time
Active
Listening
Empathy
Rapport
Influence
Behaviour
Change
The Behavioural Change Stairway Model
Based on Chris Voss, Never Split the Difference.

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Three Listening Tips
Be fully present and
listen attentively.
Be respectfully curious,
suspend judgement, and
cultivate an open mind.
Listen for facts,
feelings, and needs.

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More Trust Building Techniques
• Speak and act with integrity.
• Get to know people and allow people to get to know you.
• Involve people in product decisions. Encourage them to share
their ideas and concerns.
• Be supportive and offer help whenever possible and appropriate.
But don’t neglect your core responsibilities and don’t sacrifice
sustainable pace.
• Strengthen your product management expertise.

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Summary
Dealing with difficult people is part and parcel of being a
product professional. It’s at least as important as other product
management work like product roadmapping and prioritising
the product backlog.
Unresolved conflicts don’t go away. They affect relationships,
impact our mental well-being, and reduce productivity.
Learning to resolve conflict and building trust are two key
leadership skills that product people should actively develop.
They strengthen connections, improve the work environment,
and help us grow as individuals and leaders.

9. You can find more information
about product leadership at:
romanpichler.com
Please send questions and
feedback to:
info@romanpichler.com
Thank You for Listening
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