Influencing others is a fundamental competency for successful product managers, defined as the ability to persuade, inspire, and align diverse stakeholders toward a shared vision without relying on formal authority. According to the Product Management Institute, this "soft power" capability enables PMs to drive product outcomes through collaboration rather than control, making it essential for navigating the matrix organization structure typical in product development environments.

In the daily life of a product manager, influencing manifests in numerous activities: convincing engineering teams to prioritize certain features, persuading executives to approve strategic directions, negotiating with sales and marketing about product positioning, and building consensus among competing stakeholders. This multifaceted skill combines elements of strategic communication, relationship building, negotiation, and emotional intelligence. The most effective product managers seamlessly shift between different influencing styles—from data-driven persuasion to storytelling to collaborative problem-solving—depending on their audience and context.

When evaluating candidates for this competency during interviews, focus on past examples that demonstrate how they've navigated organizational complexity, earned trust, overcome resistance, and achieved outcomes through others. The most revealing responses will show not only that candidates have influenced successfully, but that they understand the nuances of when and how to apply different approaches based on the situation and stakeholders involved.

Interview Questions

Tell me about a time when you had to influence a team or individual who didn't report to you to prioritize your product needs.

Areas to Cover:

• The specific situation and stakes involved
• How the candidate assessed the other party's priorities and motivations
• The approach and techniques used to influence
• How they handled any resistance or pushback
• The outcome of their influence attempt
• Lessons learned about effective influence

Follow-Up Questions:

• What did you learn about this person/team that helped you tailor your approach?
• How did you determine the best influence strategy to use in this situation?
• What would you do differently if faced with a similar situation in the future?
• How did this experience shape your approach to cross-functional influence?

Describe a situation where you needed to get buy-in from senior leadership for a product decision or direction that initially faced skepticism.

Areas to Cover:

• The nature of the decision and why it faced skepticism
• How the candidate prepared for the influence conversation
• The communication approach and evidence they presented
• How they addressed concerns and objections
• The outcome and implementation of the decision
• How they followed through after gaining initial buy-in

Follow-Up Questions:

• What signals told you that leadership was skeptical about your proposal?
• How did you adapt your communication to the specific executives involved?
• What was the most challenging objection you faced and how did you address it?
• How did you maintain leadership support after the initial agreement?

Share an example of when you had to influence engineering teams to change technical direction or prioritize certain work when they had different opinions about what was important.

Areas to Cover:

• The technical context and differing perspectives
• How the candidate built credibility with the engineering team
• Methods used to understand and address engineering concerns
• Their approach to bridging business and technical viewpoints
• How technical tradeoffs were navigated
• Results of the influence effort

Follow-Up Questions:

• How did you establish technical credibility with the engineers?
• What did you learn about effectively communicating with technical teams?
• How did you balance pushing for business needs while respecting technical constraints?
• What would you do differently in a similar situation in the future?

Tell me about a time when you had to build consensus among multiple stakeholders with competing priorities.

Areas to Cover:

• The conflicting priorities and stakeholders involved
• How the candidate identified common ground
• Their approach to facilitating agreement
• Techniques used to navigate organizational politics
• How they handled stakeholders who remained resistant
• The ultimate resolution and lessons learned

Follow-Up Questions:

• How did you identify the underlying interests behind each stakeholder's position?
• What techniques did you use to find a solution that addressed multiple needs?
• Was there anyone who remained unsatisfied, and how did you handle that?
• What did this experience teach you about building consensus?

Describe a situation where data or user research contradicted what stakeholders believed, and you needed to influence a change in direction.

Areas to Cover:

• The nature of the contradiction and stakeholders' initial beliefs
• How the candidate presented the contradicting evidence
• Their approach to challenging established thinking
• How they managed emotional reactions to contradicting data
• The process of shifting perspectives based on evidence
• Results and impact of the direction change

Follow-Up Questions:

• How did you present the contradicting information in a way that was compelling?
• What resistance did you face when challenging existing beliefs?
• How did you balance respecting stakeholders' experience while advocating for change?
• What would you do differently if faced with a similar situation?

Share an example of when you failed to influence a key stakeholder or team. What happened and what did you learn?

Areas to Cover:

• The context and influence goal
• The approach the candidate initially took
• Where the influence attempt broke down
• How they responded to the failure
• What they would do differently
• How this experience shaped their future influence approach

Follow-Up Questions:

• When did you realize your influence strategy wasn't working?
• What do you think were the root causes of the resistance?
• How did you adapt your approach after facing resistance?
• How has this experience changed your influence strategy in subsequent situations?

Tell me about a time when you had to influence a significant change in product strategy or direction across the organization.

Areas to Cover:

• The strategic change and why it was needed
• The candidate's approach to socializing the change
• How they built a coalition of support
• Their strategy for managing resistance
• The communication plan across different levels
• The outcome and impact of the strategic change

Follow-Up Questions:

• How did you sequence your influence approach across different stakeholders?
• What was the most effective argument or technique you used?
• How did you maintain momentum during the change process?
• What would you do differently if leading a similar change again?

Describe a situation where you had to influence product adoption or usage with customers or users.

Areas to Cover:

• The adoption challenge and user context
• How the candidate understood user resistance or hesitation
• The influence approach used with external stakeholders
• How they measured success of their influence efforts
• The results achieved through their approach
• Lessons learned about influencing user behavior

Follow-Up Questions:

• How did you identify the barriers to adoption?
• What specific messaging or techniques worked best?
• How did you adapt your approach based on user feedback?
• What insights about influencing users will you carry forward?

Tell me about a situation where you had to influence someone who had more experience or seniority than you.

Areas to Cover:

• The context and power dynamic involved
• How the candidate established credibility despite the experience gap
• Their approach to respectfully challenging senior perspectives
• How they balanced confidence with appropriate deference
• The outcome of their influence attempt
• How this shaped their approach to influencing up

Follow-Up Questions:

• How did you establish your credibility in this situation?
• What techniques helped you overcome the experience imbalance?
• How did you handle moments of doubt or pushback?
• What did you learn about effectively influencing people with more experience?

Share an example of when you had to influence without complete information or in an ambiguous situation.

Areas to Cover:

• The ambiguous context and what was at stake
• How the candidate assessed what information was available
• Their approach to building a persuasive case with incomplete data
• How they acknowledged and managed uncertainty
• The eventual outcome and how it unfolded
• Lessons about influence in uncertain situations

Follow-Up Questions:

• How did you determine what was "good enough" information to proceed?
• How did you communicate the uncertainty while still remaining persuasive?
• What contingency plans did you develop in case your influence direction proved wrong?
• How has this experience shaped how you handle ambiguity in influence situations?

Describe a time when you had to use data and analytics to influence a product decision.

Areas to Cover:

• The decision context and stakeholders involved
• How the candidate identified and gathered relevant data
• Their approach to analyzing and presenting the information
• How they translated data into compelling narratives
• Any resistance to the data-driven approach
• The outcome and impact of the decision

Follow-Up Questions:

• How did you determine which metrics would be most persuasive?
• How did you present the data to make it accessible and compelling?
• Were there stakeholders who remained skeptical of the data? How did you handle that?
• What did you learn about effectively using data for influence?

Tell me about a situation where you had to change your influence approach midway because it wasn't working.

Areas to Cover:

• The initial context and influence approach
• Signs that indicated the approach wasn't effective
• How the candidate diagnosed what was going wrong
• Their pivot to a new influence strategy
• The effectiveness of the new approach
• Lessons learned about adaptability in influence

Follow-Up Questions:

• What signals told you that your initial approach wasn't working?
• How quickly did you recognize the need to change approaches?
• What was most effective about your revised influence strategy?
• How has this experience affected how you approach influence situations now?

Share an example of when you had to say "no" to a request from an important stakeholder while maintaining a positive relationship.

Areas to Cover:

• The context and nature of the request
• Why it needed to be declined
• The candidate's approach to delivering the "no"
• How they offered alternatives or compromises
• The stakeholder's reaction and relationship impact
• How they followed up after declining the request

Follow-Up Questions:

• How did you prepare for the conversation?
• What specific language or framing did you use when declining?
• How did you ensure the stakeholder still felt heard and respected?
• What did this teach you about maintaining relationships while setting boundaries?

Tell me about a time when you had to gain support for a long-term product vision that required short-term tradeoffs.

Areas to Cover:

• The vision and required short-term sacrifices
• How the candidate articulated the long-term benefits
• Their approach to addressing concerns about short-term impacts
• How they built and maintained commitment during difficult periods
• The outcome and whether the vision was realized
• Lessons about balancing short and long-term influence

Follow-Up Questions:

• How did you make the long-term vision tangible and compelling?
• What techniques did you use to help stakeholders accept short-term pain?
• How did you maintain support when people started feeling the short-term tradeoffs?
• What would you do differently if facing similar tradeoffs again?

Describe a situation where you needed to influence a decision maker who rarely had time for detailed discussions.

Areas to Cover:

• The context and constraints of the busy decision maker
• How the candidate prepared for limited-time interactions
• Their approach to distilling complex information
• Techniques used to make points quickly and memorably
• The outcome of their influence attempt
• Lessons about influencing with time constraints

Follow-Up Questions:

• How did you determine what information was most essential to include?
• What techniques did you use to make complex information accessible quickly?
• How did you follow up after the brief interaction?
• What have you learned about influencing busy executives?

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are behavioral questions more effective than hypothetical questions when assessing influence skills?

Behavioral questions reveal how candidates have actually handled influence situations in the past, providing concrete evidence of their capabilities rather than theoretical knowledge. Past behavior is the best predictor of future performance. When candidates describe real experiences, you get insight into not just what they did, but how they thought about the situation, adapted to challenges, and learned from outcomes. Hypothetical questions often elicit idealized answers that may not reflect how someone actually performs under pressure.

How many influence-related questions should I include in an interview?

For product manager roles where influence is critical, dedicate 3-4 questions specifically to assessing this competency. This allows you to explore different dimensions of influence (upward, cross-functional, external) while still leaving time for other important competencies. Focus on deeper exploration of fewer questions rather than superficial coverage of many questions. Quality follow-up questions are essential to get beyond prepared answers and reveal true capabilities.

How should I evaluate responses to these influence questions?

Look for candidates who demonstrate: 1) Self-awareness about their influence approach and style, 2) Adaptability in how they influence different stakeholders, 3) Strategic thinking about how to sequence and approach influence, 4) Resilience when facing resistance, and 5) Learning from both successes and failures. The strongest candidates will show they understand influence is not about manipulation but building authentic relationships and aligning around shared goals. They'll also connect their influence efforts to concrete business outcomes.

Can these questions be adapted for more junior product manager roles?

Yes. For more junior roles, look for examples of influence in academic projects, internships, or entry-level roles. The scale of influence may be smaller, but the fundamental skills remain relevant. You might focus more on how they communicated effectively, built relationships, and navigated simple cross-team dependencies rather than expecting examples of organizational-level or strategic influence. Even junior candidates should demonstrate awareness of the importance of influence skills and eagerness to develop in this area.

How can I tell if a candidate is genuinely skilled at influence versus just a good storyteller in the interview?

Look for specificity and reflection in their answers. Skilled influencers will describe concrete techniques, adaptations to different stakeholders, and lessons learned—not just positive outcomes. Ask for examples of influence failures and what they learned. Press for details about how stakeholders initially responded and what adjustments they made. The most authentic candidates will acknowledge the complexity of influence rather than presenting it as straightforward. Consider using a structured interview scorecard to objectively evaluate responses against clear criteria.

Interested in a full interview guide with Influencing Others for Product Manager Roles as a key trait? Sign up for Yardstick and build it for free.