Winning credibility with senior teammates who doubt your leadership as a PM

You are a product manager at Amazon. The people on the team you lead have more experience than you do, and because of that gap they don't respect you or accept your lead. How would you handle this situation and lead the team effectively? ```hint Diagnose before you act Before choosing a response, test whether the experience gap is really what drives the resistance, and ask yourself what you can bring this team that their years of experience do not already give them. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Do these teammates report to you, or are you leading a cross-functional group of engineers, designers and analysts without formal authority, as PMs usually do? - How does the lack of respect show up: decisions being reopened, people going around you to your manager, your input being dismissed in reviews, or missed commitments? - Are you new to this team, or were you placed in this role over people who may have expected it themselves? - Is the resistance coming from the whole team, or from one or two senior people who set the tone? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - Diagnosing the actual source of the resistance before acting, rather than assuming it is only about experience. - Concrete ways to earn credibility through contribution: listening, learning the team's context, and adding value the senior members do not already have. - Using the senior members' expertise and giving them ownership and visibility, while keeping clear accountability for the decisions that belong to the PM. - How open challenges or persistent undermining are handled, including when and how to escalate. - Signs that the approach is working and, if asked, a real example told with situation, actions and measurable results. ### Follow-up Questions - In a planning meeting, the most senior engineer openly dismisses your prioritization in front of the team. What do you say in the moment, and what do you do afterward? - Tell me about a time you led people with more experience than you. What did you change, and how did you know it worked? - After a few months, one person still undermines decisions the rest of the team has accepted. When do you escalate, and to whom?