3 steps to level up stakeholder communication and engagement
The below is a step-by-step guide for product managers and product leaders, who want to improve their stakeholder communication, or struggle with high pressure meetings and various communication touchpoints in their roles.
Despite the overwhelming amount of books, blogs and trainings; stakeholder relationships and cross-functional alignment are still cited as the biggest overall challenge amongst product people. (You see numbers in this survey from ProductBoard). Even when it comes to product leadership roles (group or director level), where responsibility expands beyond the day-to-days to product strategy, vision and roadmaps, this area still seems to be the biggest challenge.
Unfortunately, it’s not just about how much effort product people put into finding “best practices” - there’s a more fundamental reason why there’s no one silver bullet to solve all of these problems. These interactions always happen between human beings. To deal with that, you need a curious, flexible and experimental approach to build a more organic, emergent practice. The good news is, there are a few steps that can help.
🤝 Step 1 - Who: Take the time to really understand your stakeholders
When it comes to stakeholders, you need to go beyond the obvious: their role, and what that means in the context of your product and organization. You need to understand their needs, preferences, worries and even personal goals, because those too will have a massive influence on how they show up. I worked with stakeholders who got deeply involved with the day-to-day detail, while others didn’t care about anything else apart from what’s on the roadmap. These preferences were unrelated to their roles, they were rooted in their personal experiences and the quality of our relationship.
To learn more about your stakeholders, you can do interviews, add icebreakers to workshops or ask to share a coffee break. If you get a better idea of why they show up in these ways, you can use this to find better ways to engage them; something that fits both of your needs. Make sure to stay professional, but make an effort to learn about the person behind the title.
🎯 Step 2 - What: Know (and be clear on) what you’re trying to achieve
Your stakeholders are busy and often overwhelmed, just like you. One of the most important changes you can make to your communication is to learn how to make your request clear, early on. This will help your stakeholder take the action the most efficient way possible. So before you ask them to commit to a potentially lengthy, undefined conversation, you should take the time to clarify what you’re looking for and use that information to drive all decisions around the what and the how of your communication. This includes not only telling them what kind of help you need, but also what the impact might look like and if there’s any time sensitivity or other critical considerations.
A few questions you can ask yourself before your next stakeholder interaction:
Based on what you're asking them to do, what is critical for them to know?
What are they likely to know today, and did anything change since you last spoke?
Are there any new risks, opportunities, important learnings that they should be aware of?
How can you make your request really clear and focused, so you both use your time and effort the best way?
📝 Step 3 - How: Not everything needs to be an email OR a slide deck
You now have two very important inputs to help you decide on the right format - you know who you’re talking to, and you know what you’ll ask them. If you want to get the format right, think about what happens during and after the interaction. This means the format needs to reflect what engagement you need to get to your outcome, rather than how much information you want to share or in what format you feel the most comfortable with. Most importantly, your focus should be getting your message clear, succinct and as simple as possible, without leaving too much room for misunderstanding. Hint: unless it’s an update and your audience is a room of 10+ people, it’s rarely a presentation.
To figure out the best format to get your message across, think about these questions:
What are you asking the audience to do? Your goal should be to only include detail that directly supports a focused, clear understanding of the situation and the ability to take action. Eliminate anything else - you can always find ways to share it later. This means
bullets over long text
plain language over jargon
short statements over long paragraphs
When do they need to process and action your request? There are multiple steps in communication you need to be mindful of: you communicate your message, the other person receives it, processes it, and then they give you their understanding. Only after this can you agree on any action. The more complex your message, the more likely you’ll need multiple formats to support this chain, to ensure that the right action will be taken at the right time.
Do you have a prioritization conversation coming up? Send an update email before, so everyone is on the same page. Include what strategic dimensions you think you’ll need to prioritize. Ask for feedback and questions in advance.
Do you need to agree on a release date with stakeholders? Record a 10-min show & tell with your product team, so they’ll understand the value and status, and will be able to help you move things forward. Create a wiki page with the most important artifacts and make it available to all. Have short 1-1 conversations with key stakeholders and get alignment before the big meeting.
Are you planning discovery that needs funding or buy-in? Focus on what you want to learn and why, and how the research can help you avoid risk and waste in the process. Bonus if you can share relevant insights from previous rounds, that makes the value in discovery explicit. Link to existing artifacts, suggest alternative approaches to choose from. Keep the meeting focused on how you plan to get value for money (even if money here is time) and keep your stakeholder aligned.
The bad news? There’s no silver bullet that will solve all of your stakeholder problems.
The good news? With practice, reflection and a flexible approach, you have a much better chance of creating better interactions and the right kind of engagement. Focus on making that next conversation go better, and build your emergent practice with patience.
