Is this an opinion, direction, or suggestion?

The bigger teams get, the more feedback we have to manage. We have several places where we get feedback, too: Product Review, Office Hours, cross-functional syncs, 1:1s, hallway stops, you name it.

Chatting with designers, writers, researchers and PMs across the company, managing stakeholders bubbles up as a challenge. A few tips that have helped me navigate a barrage of feedback as a company scales:

1. If feedback is vague, ask if it’s an opinion, suggestion or direction
2. Synthesize everything I’m hearing
3. Play it back to everyone to get us on the same page
4. Identify who actually makes the decision

When it’s fuzzy on what we’re supposed to do and who’s supposed to make the call, teams slow down. It can be frustrating. Even if you’re not the one making a decision, being the person to clarify what everyone is saying can bring an entire team together.