One of the greatest challenges of PM’ing for people is often leading without authority. Generally, people do not report to you, and in some cases may report to people opposed to you or your goals. How do you get these people to execute? This is something I particularly see more business and analytical PMs struggle with. They know the theory, and they have a vision, but they struggle in the day to day of leading a team. If they can rely on their team leads and the culture, they can still execute, but it makes things hard. So, how do you get people listen to you when you are not their boss?
Power resides where men believe it resides. Its a trick.
There are libraries full of books and years worth of seminars and videos to teach you, but here’s some thoughts, techniques and observations:
- Build Trust – This is the most important thing at the beginning. It is a prerequisite for all action and collaboration. It’s a cliche that trust is hard to build but easy to lose. But it is possible to build and rebuild trust: be reliable, be genuine, admit mistakes, don’t gossip or badmouth team members behind their backs, find a common enemy.
- Genuinely Listen – If you’ve got a strong outgoing demeanor (a “type A” personality), or a strong vision and sense of self-direction, it can sometimes be difficult to stop, listen and really engage with people. Listen to feedback. Don’t interrupt. Admit where you agree first, before providing any defense. Listen to suggestions with patience, and don’t multitask when team members are giving their suggestions. Listening is not committing, and it is almost always worth the time.
- Servant Leadership – It’s a real thing. Be the person who volunteers when no one else does. Clean up after people. Be the first to take blame and the last to take credit. It sets a good example, but it also gets you pile of goodwill.
- Persistance – There’s really not much more to it. Be more determined than the others. Outlast any objections, politely declining to give in.
- Take People Individually – For example, don’t treat engineers as interchangeable code machines. Learn what people are good at, and what excites or motivates them. Even if you can’t always accommodate them, the fact that you “know” them goes a long way. It also obviously helps in planning and assigning work to have this kind of understanding of your teammates.
- The Shit Umbrella – Everyone knows this one, and it’s important to not overly isolate a team that needs context for motivation and planning. But keep out some of the noise of organizational politics. And above all take on the brunt of top down demands and scrutiny.
- Trading Goodwill for Favors – Even just among a small core team, in many ways you’re playing very small scale politics. And, like all political systems, the core is the trading of favors. Don’t ask for petty shit and don’t cash in goodwill until you need to. But when you do, don’t be shy or reluctant to do so. Be genuinely kind and helpful, but call in your chits when the time comes.
- Handling Dissent – How you handle teammates who disagree with you or your decisions plays a major role in how well the team will collaborate and work with you, rather than for or against you. Never make it personal. If someone is, or is being overly aggressive or persistent, take it to a 1:1, or their boss. Use data and evidence to disagree, when ruling against someone or their position. Never say “because I’m the PM”.
- Did I mention persistence? People admire it, as long as you’re also open minded and delegate.