How to Lead in Product Management: Practices to Align Stakeholders, Guide Development Teams, and Create Value Together

by Roman Pichler

Here are four reasons for this behaviour: Fear of confrontation: We are concerned that we will cause more harm by addressing the issue than letting it be, and we tell ourselves that if we don’t deal with it, it will eventually go away or resolve itself (Sofer 2018, 65–66). Additionally, we may worry that resolving the conflict will make us vulnerable—we might not feel safe to admit that we made a mistake or have a weakness, or we might be uncomfortable talking about “fluffy stuff” like feelings and needs (Lencioni 2002, 63). Wrong priorities: We believe that addressing the conflict is not a high priority and that we should attend to other, more pressing matters. After all, there is so much real work that needs to be done, including reviewing the product roadmap and refining product backlog items. We really don’t have the time to sort out all these pesky people issues. Work culture: Some organisations see conflict as a necessity for collaboration, innovation, and growth; others regard it as undesirable or even unacceptable. For example, when I was working at Intel, I felt that I could express my disagreement with senior stakeholders—challenging the status quo was an important part of the work culture at the company. But I have also worked with organisations that had strong hierarchies and an authoritarian leadership bias, where having meaningful disagreements and engaging in conflict was much more difficult and sometimes perceived as a sign of disrespect. Lack of trust: Whe...