Managing Executives
Read on my website / Read time: 5 minutes
Last week, I talked about how to get executive decision makers to actually make decisions.
That naturally leads to the question of how to manage "up" to executives.
Because so much of what we do in product management is resource intensive and impacts customers directly, product management has unique access to executives that many other groups in the company don't enjoy. (Sales is the other group.)
This means managing up to executives is an important product management job.
The ability to manage up to executives affects not just our ability to get product decisions made and approval for our plans, but also our reputation, our job performance, and our career prospects at the company.
Managing up to executives goes beyond stakeholder management.
Those who have never been in an executive role don't realize the scope and scale of an executive job.
They have big results to deliver. They're often in back-to-back meetings all day every day. As a result, they are forced to be constantly context-switching.
On top of that, they have big personalities and egos to manage, which includes their fellow executives, Board members, major investors, and strategic partners and customers.
As a result, they're often removed from the day-to-day details. Yet they're still required to make major decisions that affect everything from the direction of a project to the use of resources to team culture to the overall success of the business.
This makes them among the busiest people in the organization. They may be paid well, but their job is incredibly stressful, with high possibility of burnout.
That means they often have little time, know enough to be "dangerous", have short attention spans, and are often distracted.
Their preference is to be able to make a quick decision, but if they can't, they'll default to just punting the decision for later.
So, as product managers, we need to help them help us. Here are 7 actions we can take to manage up effectively:
1. "Be bright, be quick."
The most precious commodity an executive has is time. And they have very little of it.
So we need to come to our conversations with them prepared with well-thought-out ideas, express them quickly and clearly, then move on.
This can be especially challenging to those of us who struggle to be succinct communicators, come from technical backgrounds, are operational or process-minded, or speak with an accent when dealing with English-speaking executives in the Western world.
If you need help, take a course in executive communications. Find people with strong presentations skills to practice your pitch. Practice with your boss, if feasible. After your presentation, ask your boss or someone you trust who was also at the meeting for feedback on your performance. Use that to improve.
When I was starting out as a product manager, I asked our SVP of Sales, who was a fantastic communicator, to mentor me in my executive communications. After an exec meeting, I'd seek his feedback. Sometimes it was in person, sometimes he could only do it over email. It took just 5-15 minutes each time, but within a year my performance improved dramatically.
2. Don't bury them.
We can't assume they are or get mad when they are not. They simply can't be as close to our project or product as we are. Some may know enough to be "dangerous". But we, as the product leads, are the experts.
On the other hand, some product managers, especially those who are technically or operationally minded, dive headlong into providing too much detail.
The thinking goes: "They don't have all the context I have. So I need to give it all to them."
Other times, we're get so caught up in our own day-to-day details, we forget to pull up and pull out.
Before you know it, you've lost your audience. They're checking their emails or Slack messages, go A/V mute, or simply leave the call.
So, instead, we need to give them enough detail to understand without burying them.
- Why we're here - to discuss, decide, or inform?
- Summary of the situation.
- Options with pros and cons. (Remember: make economic arguments as much as possible - trade-offs and opportunity costs.)
- Recommendation.
3. Provide options and solutions.
Product managers are paid to solve problems; not simply bring problems and expect others to solve them.
To improve your performance, think about how you present problems. Here is a scale:
1. This is a problem. You need to fix it.
2. This is a problem. Tell me how to solve it.
3. This is a problem. Here are some options to solve. Pick one.
4. This is a problem. Here are some options to solve, each with technical pros and cons. Pick one.
5. This is a problem. Here are some options to solve, each with business / economic pros and cons. Pick one.
6. This is a problem. Here are some options to solve, each with business / economic pros and cons. I recommend this one. Agree?
7. This is a problem. Here are some options to solve, each with business / economic pros and cons. I recommend this one and here's why. Here's the support I need and when I will follow-up. Agree?
Which product manager do you think the executives will rely on more?
4. Be prepared to have a conversation.
Inexperienced product managers often fail because they're more focused on getting through their content no matter what, and get frustrated if execs take them off their intended route.
A good executive leader WANTS to have a thought-provoking conversation, and you should too. They may do this by asking probing questions, playing devil's advocate, testing assumptions, deep diving on a specific area, discussing analogies, applying alternative frameworks, ideating on alternative solutions, or just generally bantering about the subject.
Often this is to help them with their own understanding. Sometimes it's to check whether WE can demonstrate command over our material without the crutch of a scripted presentation and how we can perform in front of an executive audience.
Slides, spreadsheets, and other materials we bring are support materials. What we communicate verbally and how we answer questions is what matters.
5. Build trust before you need to rely on it.
Before even getting to an executive presentation, we want to build a foundation of trust.
Product Management is about influencing outcomes and creating change. And that's only possible on a foundation of trust.
If the executives don't trust us, we can't influence and we won't be effective.
Trust is built through consistent delivery. So, deliver consistently and build trust before you need it.
6. Avoid bad surprises.
We need to lean on this foundation of trust especially hard during a time of crisis.
Managing up before a crisis is way easier than doing it after the crisis begins.
Stay on top of worrying signals and keep the relevant executives informed. That way, when isht hits the fan, it won't be such a surprise to them and you won't have them breathing down your neck all at once.
7. Do not go around your management chain.
Keeping your manager (e.g., Group PM, Senior Manager, Director, VP, etc.) out of the loop is a career limiting move.
Have your manager involved in any executive conversation. If you absolutely must talk to an executive without your manager present (e.g., the exec comes to you directly) loop your manager in as soon as possible. It is common courtesy.
