Stakeholder Management and Communication
This module teaches PMs how to manage one of the hardest but most crucial parts of the role: stakeholders. You'll learn how to identify, prioritize, and collaborate with executives, engineers, designers, marketing, sales, and customers. The emphasis is on building trust, creating alignment, and communicating effectively up, down, and across the organization. By the end, you'll know how to influence without authority, handle conflicts, and ensure stakeholders work with you, not against you.
Lessons
Why stakeholder management matters
Who are stakeholders?
Internal vs external stakeholders
The product manager as a bridge
Building trust through transparency
Identifying true decision-makers
What is the power-interest grid?
Aligning with executives
Collaborating with engineering
Partnering with design
Working with sales teams as a product manager
Working with support teams for product insights
Understanding marketing alignment in product management
What are stakeholder interviews?
Communicating up vs down
What is storytelling with data?
Visual communication for product managers
The art of saying no as a product manager
Handling conflicts constructively
Avoiding stakeholder whiplash
Understanding stakeholder update rhythms
Written vs verbal communication
Why new PMs should over-communicate early
Creating visibility into priorities
Influence without authority
Tailoring the message
Common traps in stakeholder management
Managing 'HiPPO' (Highest Paid Person's Opinion)
Using empathy as a tool
Building long-term relationships with stakeholders
Part of Product Management Foundations
The best course to master PM essentials, perfect for aspiring or junior product managers who want solid foundations.
View full courseOther modules in this course
Introduction to Product Management
Get a clear, no-fluff introduction to what product management really means. This module explains the role, core skills, and day-to-day reality of being a PM in 2025.
Understanding Users and Markets
User and market understanding is the foundation of great product management. Without it, everything else is guesswork.
Product Vision and Strategy
A strong vision and clear strategy are what separate successful products from feature factories.
Opportunity Discovery and Ideation
Before building features, great product managers discover the right opportunities to pursue.
Validation and MVPs
This module teaches how to validate ideas before wasting resources building them.
Strategic Decision-Making for PMs
This module focuses on the essence of product management: making strategic choices.
UX Fundamentals and Prototyping
This module introduces the UX basics every product manager should know.
Working with Engineering and Technology Basics
This module equips PMs with the technical literacy and collaboration skills needed to work effectively with engineering.
Principles of Effective Collaboration (Avoiding Process Pitfalls)
This module teaches PMs how to foster true collaboration across teams without falling into the trap of rigid process.
Metrics, Analytics, and Data Literacy
This module equips PMs with the fundamentals of data literacy.
Building and Communicating Effective Roadmaps
This module teaches PMs how to use roadmaps as living communication tools rather than static promises.
Product Launch and Go-to-Market
This module teaches PMs how to plan, execute, and learn from product launches.
Customer Feedback and Continuous Discovery
This module shows how PMs can build an ongoing discovery habit by capturing, interpreting, and acting on feedback.
Product Iteration and Growth Loops
This module teaches how product iteration actually drives success post-launch.
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