A product manager's authority rarely matches their responsibility — they're expected to align engineering, design, sales, and leadership around a single direction, without any of those teams actually reporting to them, and often while juggling deadlines set by people who don't fully understand the trade-offs involved. Stakeholder Management is the skill that makes that possible: earning genuine buy-in through trust, clear communication, and consistent follow-through, rather than relying on positional power that product managers simply don't have. The Stakeholder Management and Cross-Functional Collaboration for Product Managers Training Course, delivered by The British Academy for Training and Development, is built for product professionals who need every stakeholder relationship, from engineering to the executive floor, to actually work under real pressure.

This course treats stakeholder management as a learnable discipline built on executive communication, leadership, collaboration, and negotiation, not personality or charm. Participants learn how to read what different stakeholders genuinely need beneath what they say in meetings, how to communicate product decisions persuasively at the executive level without losing nuance, and how to negotiate trade-offs that leave relationships intact rather than strained by the process. The course also addresses the practical realities of cross-functional work: competing incentives, limited time, and stakeholders who each believe their priority should come first. Participants leave with practical tools they can apply immediately in their next stakeholder conversation, not abstract theory about "managing up."

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Apply Stakeholder Management principles to build genuine trust across functions
• Map stakeholders accurately by influence, interest, and expectations
• Communicate product decisions clearly and persuasively at the executive level
• Lead cross-functional teams through influence rather than formal authority
• Negotiate trade-offs that protect relationships as well as outcomes
• Manage conflicting priorities between engineering, design, sales, and leadership
• Deliver difficult or unpopular decisions without damaging stakeholder trust
• Build collaboration habits that hold up under deadline pressure
• Manage upward effectively, influencing senior leadership and decision-makers
• Recognise early warning signs of stakeholder disengagement or misalignment
• Adapt communication style effectively across technical, business, and executive audiences
• Handle stakeholder conflict constructively without unnecessary escalation

Target Group

• Product managers and product owners working across multiple stakeholder groups
• Senior product managers and heads of product managing executive relationships
• Team leads and delivery managers coordinating cross-functional teams
• Business analysts and project managers supporting product initiatives
• Scrum masters and agile coaches facilitating collaboration across teams
• Professionals preparing to step into leadership or senior product roles
• Anyone whose role depends on influence rather than direct authority

• The Real Challenge of Stakeholder Management
• Why authority and responsibility rarely match in product roles
• Common stakeholder management failures and their root causes
• How unmanaged stakeholder relationships quietly derail otherwise strong products
• Mapping Stakeholders Accurately
• Identifying influence, interest, and expectations across every stakeholder
• Prioritising stakeholder relationships without neglecting the less vocal ones
• Executive Communication That Lands
• Structuring updates and decisions for senior, time-pressed audiences
• Framing trade-offs in terms executives genuinely care about
• Avoiding excessive detail that buries the actual decision being asked for
• Leadership Without Formal Authority
• Building credibility with teams that don't report directly to you
• Earning buy-in through consistency, transparency, and follow-through
• Cross-Functional Collaboration in Practice
• Coordinating engineering, design, sales, and marketing around one direction
• Resolving competing priorities without escalating unnecessary conflict
• Negotiation Skills for Product Managers
• Structuring negotiations that protect both outcomes and relationships
• Finding workable compromises under time and resource pressure
• Preparing for negotiations by understanding what each stakeholder can genuinely concede
• Delivering Difficult Decisions
• Communicating unpopular trade-offs honestly and respectfully
• Managing pushback without becoming defensive or evasive
• Sustaining Collaboration Under Pressure
• Keeping cross-functional relationships strong during high-stakes periods
• Recognising early signs of stakeholder disengagement before they escalate
• Managing Upward Effectively
• Influencing senior leadership and securing support for product priorities
• Building trust with executives who have limited time and attention
• Building Long-Term Stakeholder Relationships
• Moving from transactional interactions to durable, trust-based relationships
• Sustaining collaboration habits beyond a single project or launch
• Handling Stakeholder Conflict Constructively
• Addressing disagreement directly before it damages team dynamics
• Facilitating resolution between stakeholders with genuinely different goals
• Adapting Communication Style to Different Stakeholders
• Adjusting tone, detail, and format for technical, business, and executive audiences
• Avoiding one-size-fits-all updates that lose different stakeholder groups