Context
Trust had eroded, so teams bypassed product entirely
I had inherited a product organization where credibility and trust had significantly eroded.
Product was not seen as a reliable partner in decision-making, and many leaders had learned to bypass it entirely by escalating directly to engineering or executive leadership to get work prioritized. As a result, prioritization was driven more by urgency and influence than by shared understanding or structured evaluation.
This created a reinforcing cycle. Engineering responded to the most immediate or forceful requests, which led to constant reprioritization and a lack of confidence in planning. Product was often excluded from early conversations, and decisions were frequently made before product could shape direction or provide context.
Within the product organization itself, confidence was also uneven. Many product managers were hesitant to challenge assumptions or assert direction, which further limited product’s ability to operate as a true partner.
The result was a fragmented environment where collaboration was inconsistent and trust in product as a function had broken down.
Approach
Direct relationships replaced indirect escalation paths
I started by rebuilding direct relationships across the organization.
This meant extensive one-on-one conversations with leaders and individual contributors to understand how they experienced working with product. The focus was not on collecting requirements, but on understanding where trust had broken down and how decisions were actually being made in practice.
A key shift was closing the loop consistently and visibly.
When prioritization decisions were made, I made it a point to return to stakeholders to explain not only what had been decided, but why. Even when requests were not prioritized, the intent was to ensure people understood how their input had been considered and where it had influenced direction.
Over time, I introduced regular cross-functional sessions where product direction, priorities, and tradeoffs were shared openly. These were designed less as status updates and more as working sessions where leaders could ask questions, raise concerns, and understand how decisions were evolving.
The goal was to replace indirect escalation paths with direct, transparent communication.
Execution
Rebuilding trust through consistent, transparent decisions
Trust began to shift as stakeholders experienced consistency in how their input was handled.
Conversations that had previously been routed through engineering or executive escalation increasingly came directly to product. People were more willing to engage early because they saw that engagement led to clearer outcomes, even when those outcomes were not always aligned with their initial requests.
Within the product organization, I focused on strengthening confidence and autonomy among product managers. Coaching emphasized clearer thinking, stronger advocacy, and the ability to engage constructively with both engineering and business partners.
As this confidence grew, product began operating less as a reactive function and more as a partner in shaping direction.
Outcomes
Escalations dropped as product earned a seat at the table
As trust in product increased:
-
Stakeholders engaged directly with product rather than bypassing it
Escalations through engineering and executive channels decreased -
Cross-functional collaboration became more direct and constructive
Product managers demonstrated greater confidence and independence -
Product was included earlier in problem framing and strategic discussions
Alignment across product, engineering, and business leadership improved
The organization shifted from fragmented, escalation-driven decision-making to a more direct and trust-based model of collaboration.
Reflection
Credibility accumulates slowly through consistent behavior
This experience reinforced that product effectiveness depends less on formal authority and more on credibility earned over time.
People do not need every request approved to trust a product organization. They need to see that their input is taken seriously, that decisions are made transparently, and that engagement with product leads to meaningful understanding, even when outcomes differ from expectations.
Trust is built through consistency in behavior, not through process design alone.