Product Therapy Coaching Stakeholders
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Jan 22, 2026 In this conversation, Chris Jones, a partner at SVPG with extensive experience in coaching product organizations, shares insights on the often-overlooked role of stakeholders. He discusses how to transform perceived adversaries into allies by fostering trust and healthy communication. Listeners learn the importance of stakeholders sharing problems rather than solutions, and the necessity of context for effective collaboration. Chris also emphasizes shifting finance priorities from project-based funding to outcomes, alongside strategies to avoid the dreaded stakeholder ‘black hole’.
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Stakeholders Are Part Of The Product Ecosystem
- Stakeholders are anyone outside the product organization who rely on product teams to deliver technology solutions.
- Product teams cannot work in isolation because stakeholders hold business needs, constraints, and accountability.
Outcomes, Not Solutions, Are The Common Currency
- Healthy stakeholder relationships use outcomes as the primary currency rather than prescribed solutions.
- Stakeholders freely share context, constraints, customer access, and data so teams can build viable solutions.
Earn Trust By Demonstrating Capability
- Product organizations must earn stakeholder trust by demonstrating they can deliver results under the product model.
- Invest in training, staffing, or examples that prove teams can assume responsibility for outcomes.