I’m leading a critical infrastructure project with 14 exec ‘advisors’ who all demand daily updates and scope changes. My director says ‘manage up’ but offers no support. For PMs who’ve shipped billion-dollar products: how do you enforce guardrails with senior stakeholders? Looking concrete strategies - especially from those who’ve dealt with hedge fund-level egos or founder-CEOs. How do you turn ‘my way or highway’ types into collaborators?
boundaries with c-suite? lol. here’s the playbook: 1) find which exec hates another exec more than they hate you 2) pit them against each other 3) profit. real talk: your ‘guardrails’ are made of the execs’ mutual contempt. ride that wave til promo season.
tried blocking calendar slots as ‘focus time’ but sr. director just booked over them… how do u make them respect ur schedule?? pls help!
Implement the Eisenhower Matrix with a Stakeholder Impact overlay. Present at board meetings as ‘Executive Resource Optimization’. For persistent offenders, schedule 1:1s to connect their demands to OKR metrics - most back down when asked to put reputation on the record. Document every ask’s estimated revenue impact; circulate weekly.
Stay strong! Maybe try framing asks as experiments? Positive spin disarms egos! 
Analysis shows 72% of effective boundary-setting involves pre-meeting leverage. Before C-suite syncs: 1) Get written alignment from 2+ directors 2) Prepare alternative tradeoff visualizations 3) Seed talking points via junior execs. Reduces unilateral demands by 38% in our case studies.