Behavioral
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Anonymous
I was leading a project to implement a new cost-saving initiative in a large organization. The initiative involves significant changes to existing processes, including restructuring teams, implementing new technologies, and reducing overhead costs. However, the proposed changes are met with strong opposition from multiple powerful stakeholders within the organization.
Here's how I might handle this situation:
Stakeholder Analysis: Conduct a thorough analysis to understand the concerns and motivations of the powerful stakeholders opposing the project. Identify their specific objections, interests, and potential areas of compromise.
Engagement and Communication: Develop a comprehensive communication strategy to engage with the powerful stakeholders and address their concerns proactively. Schedule one-on-one meetings to listen to their perspectives, clarify misconceptions, and provide reassurances about the project's objectives and benefits.
Building a Coalition: Identify other stakeholders who support the project or have shared interests with the powerful stakeholders. Work to build a coalition of allies who can advocate for the project and help overcome opposition. Leverage influential leaders and opinion-makers to rally support and build momentum for the initiative.
Addressing Concerns: Tailor the project plan and implementation approach to address the specific concerns raised by the powerful stakeholders. Explore alternative solutions, compromises, or mitigation strategies to accommodate their interests while still advancing the project objectives.
Managing Resistance: Anticipate and address resistance from the powerful stakeholders through proactive change management strategies. Offer transparency, engage in dialogue, and provide opportunities for participation and input to mitigate opposition and build trust.
Negotiation and Compromise: Be willing to negotiate and compromise on certain aspects of the project to gain support from the powerful stakeholders. Seek win-win solutions that address their concerns without compromising the overall project goals and objectives.
Escalation if Necessary: If efforts to engage and address the concerns of the powerful stakeholders are unsuccessful, be prepared to escalate the issue to higher levels of management or seek mediation from neutral parties to facilitate resolution.
Persistence and Resilience: Maintain a positive attitude and persistence in advocating for the project despite opposition. Stay focused on the long-term benefits and positive outcomes of the initiative, and remain resilient in the face of challenges and setbacks.
By effectively engaging with and addressing the concerns of powerful stakeholders, I can navigate opposition and gain support for the project, ultimately driving successful implementation and achieving the desired outcomes.
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Anonymous
During a digital transformation initiative at a major financial institution, I led a project to implement a new customer relationship management (CRM) system. The project faced significant opposition from several senior executives who were deeply invested in the existing system and skeptical about the proposed changes. They feared the transition would disrupt operations and negatively impact customer service.
To address their concerns, I organized a series of workshops to demonstrate the benefits of the new CRM, highlighting improved efficiency, better customer insights, and long-term cost savings. I also gathered input from their teams to ensure the system met their needs. Through transparent communication, regular updates, and incorporating stakeholder feedback, I gradually built trust and support.
Ultimately, the project was successfully implemented, leading to a 20% increase in customer satisfaction and a 15% reduction in operational costs within the first year, demonstrating the value of the new system.
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Anonymous
In my current organization, we integrate Analytics with various source teams, As a PM of Analytics, i should focus on Global compatibility when i implement a feature, which can be compatible to all the SORs.
We have one particular source system who asked for a specific requirement of profile filters, which when applied, its applicable to whole SOR, which inturn is expected to be applied automatically to the Analytics warehouse
Goal here is to apply the new feature of the source system to the downstream application analytics.
I have had multiple discussions with the SOR and my analytics technical team and identified that, we do have some technical complexities to implement profile filters to analytics, this might impact other SORs. Work around for the current release, can be to push the notification to analytics application to apply the global filters in analytics again manually, and we can address this in next release, as this needs to be handled for that SOR specifically.
We had multiple discussions with the leaders of the SOR on the user satisfaction and the priority of the profile filters, but at the same time i presented the data of number of users that will be impacted from other source systems other than the one we will focus on, which might lead to drop of CSAT of other source systems
After presenting the data, the leaders were ok with the workaround i have suggested, and for the next release, we have separated user profile dimension for that particular sor and implemented the feature as requested.
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Galya
In a previous role, we were in the midst of a critical project and the CMO came in wanting significant changes to the user interface just a few weeks before the scheduled release.
(Problem)
These changes were substantial and would require a significant amount of development time, potentially delaying the project. Additionally, these alterations contradicted the initial requirements and design that had been agreed upon after extensive discussions and planning.
(Solution)
When trying to align stakeholders, I tend to follow a framework of Engage, Negotiate, Confirm.
So, first I Engaged: I organized a meeting with the CMO, the project managers, and the development team. During the meeting, I attentively listened to the stakeholder's requirements and concerns, ensuring they felt heard and understood.
I then started the Negotiation phase: I presented a detailed analysis of the potential impact of these changes on the project timeline and the alignment with the agreed-upon project goals.
I proposed a compromise where we could integrate a small portion of the requested changes in the current release while planning for a subsequent update to fully implement the rest. This way, we could meet the marketing department's immediate needs without jeopardizing the project timeline.
After a thorough discussion and negotiation, we reached an agreement to proceed with the compromise. To Confirm, I outlined the points agreed in an email to everyone after the meeting to make sure there were no misunderstandings.
(Impact)
The CMO appreciated the team's dedication to finding a middle ground and prioritizing project goals. We were able to complete the project within the deadline while maintaining our good relationship with the marketing team.
(Lessons)
This was a really useful experience for me, as it taught me how important negotiation can be when trying to lead a big project that affects various teams. I also realised how important it is to listen properly to people who disagree with you - at first I'd thought the CMO's requests were totally unecessary but when I took the extra time to really understand her perspective, I could see they some sense.
I also learned that when you agree something verbally in a meeting, share it in written form afterwards, because people tend to have contrasting memories of what was agreed!
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Behavioral
- Tell me about a time when you worked on a project which was heavily opposed by multiple powerful stakeholders?
- Could you tell me about a time when you worked on a project that was vehemently opposed by multiple powerful stakeholders?
- Tell me about a time when multiple powerful stakeholders opposed your project?
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Interview question asked to Product Managers interviewing at GitLab, Duolingo, Hotstar and others: Tell me about a time when you worked on a project which was heavily opposed by multiple powerful stakeholders?.