The "What happened" Layer - Deepstash
Leading in Product Management

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Leading in Product Management

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The "What happened" Layer

Conversations fall apart when we say, "I am right, and you are wrong." This is because we have more information about ourselves than we have about the other person. We know our intent, but we judge their intent based on their action. We also base our deduction on what suits our pre-conceived ideas.

How to overcome this limitation:

  • Use the "And" stance, meaning acknowledging that both stories can be right.
  • Disentangle the impact of the action from the original intent.
  • Map the contribution system. Each party can acknowledge that one of their actions contributed to the case.

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The Identity Layer

The Identity Layer

In the identity conversation, you start to worry about what the conversation says about you.

Three core identity-related questions we think about:

  • Am I competent?
  • Am I a good person?
  • Am I worthy of love?

You are more likely to ...

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The Feelings Layer

The Feelings Layer

Feelings are at the centre of a difficult conversation. Ignoring emotions can cause resentment, anger, and broken relationships.

There are three steps to expressing feelings in difficult conversations.

  • Get better at uncovering your feelings. Reframe feelings to s...

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Mastering difficult conversations

1.  Start from the third-person perspective.

It helps you create distance to have a broader point of view and to express yourself more objectively.

2.  Listen more intently

Use the SOAR framework

  • Make...

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TIM FERRISS

A person’s success in life can be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.

TIM FERRISS

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Three layers of difficult conversations

Three layers of difficult conversations

  • The "What happened" layer. What's the story here?
  • The Feelings layer is uncovering how you really feel.
  • The Identify layer ask what does this say about me?

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Managing difficult conversations

Managing difficult conversations

As a Product Manager, you are likely to face many difficult conversations, for example, stopping work that fails to align with top priorities, giving feedback, negotiating roadmaps, and apologising when you took your eye off the ball.

Mastering difficult conversations can g...

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CURATED FROM

CURATED BY

lil_ww

"In fact, the confidence of the people is worth more than money." ~ Carter G. Woodson

Navigating difficult conversations is a skill that gives you Product Management superpowers. It can help you influence, negotiate and lead effectively.

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The Actor-Observer Bias

Our own behaviour appears reasonable to us, and any mistakes that we make are easily attributed to other factors. However, if the same mistake is made by a third person, our tendency is to judge them as incompetent or inconsiderate. This is known as The Actor-Observer Bias.

Even on social ...

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