I am a new apm at a startup right now and I am still learning how to coordinate with everybody from eng to ops. What is your best advice for handling disagreements between different teams? I try to remind everybody that we are still fighting for the same company here and follow our general roadmap, but i feel like i need to learn how to do more.
1. Ensure agreement on goals/priorities - lot of times disagreements in direction stem from disagreements in priorities. 2. Ensure agreement on who is accountable for results and thus owns the decision. 3. Ensure agreement on the principle of “disagree and commit”. 4. Articulate both sides of the argument in a dispassionate way - this lets ppl feel “heard”.
on paper it's easy if everyone's rational, but unfortunately the reality isn't so easy. there are usually intense personalities you can deal with. some tips that have helped me: 1) as above mentioned, draw out a really good argument. ideally backed by strong reasoning such as data or even user research. 2) slowly build consensus. don't start with everyone in the room because that will be chaos. find your allies beforehand, meet with them ahead of time, and get their agreement. leverage those who agree with you against those who don't. the power of numbers actually matter. 3) while you're trying to build consensus, and if someone disagrees with you, try to find out why. dig deep and try to incorporate their feedback without trying to be overly compromising. people like to be heard. 4) if all else doesn't work, for the sake of moving forward, try to disagree and commit. 5) escalation to someone of a higher authority. 4 and 5 should be used sparingly
These two above are excellent responses. People do things for 2 reasons, the reason they tell you and the real reason. My fav weasel phrase to draw out the real reason: "Help me/us understand why you feel that way."
Just quit.
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If you disagree —> give a reason why you disagree and see others convince with that reason. If not you will be an AH in the team who always disagrees.
So yes - that person is AH