Two Tools for Mastering Stakeholder Management Through Trust, Loyalty, and Advocacy

This article, co-authored by Bruce McCarthy and Sean Flaherty, was inspired during a recent podcast episode from Product Momentum featuring Bruce as guest and Sean as co-host.

By Bruce McCarthy and Sean Flaherty

In a recent episode of Product Momentum, Bruce McCarthy explained that the hardest part about being a product manager is wrangling the needs of multiple stakeholders and saying ‘no’ to some things so that you can say ‘yes’ to others. But those are precisely the decisions that lie at the crux of the product manager’s job. And they’re fraught with risk – inadvertently suggesting a preference for one key stakeholder while alienating others.

As we recorded the episode, we quickly discovered the parallels between Bruce’s Stakeholder Canvas model and Sean’s Relationship Ladder framework – and how these tools can work in concert to help product managers navigate thorny decisions to arrive at workable solutions and preserve stakeholder relationships.

It’s not enough to have product-market fit to be successful; we also need product-organization fit. And that’s where the Stakeholder Canvas and Relationship Ladder render the greatest value.