Long story short, I was promoted. It's a new, but somewhat related role to my previous position.

I have been training in this position for 1.5 business weeks (the Sr. Manager I'm replacing gave 2 weeks) and this Product Manager has already scheduled time on my calendar (day 3 of my training), he had his subordinate reach out to me (day 4), and he reached out to me again directly end of day today (day 6). When he spoke to me the first time, I thought the guy I was replacing scheduled the call, but it was the PM directly. He said he was "shaking the tree." Trying to get me and my new team to make new materials to support his product updates. All while I have 5-10 other things on my plate.

The person I'm replacing told my boss and his boss that this PM reaching out directly, is "jumping the gun." We haven't supported his team in the past, so much so there is no process to deny or accept.

I don't want to be unprofessional, because my first reaction is to tell this guy some not so nice things. But, I want to come off as well as possible to my boss and his boss.

Anyway to come off that I'm not ducking my tail, and also not being unprofessional?

Agreed, which is why i said just meet with him and talk it out. Don't play into existing silos. Ignore them and just talk to the guy one and one and figure it out.

That is usually the right solution when I see these types of posts on here. People let existing bureaucracy dictate their reaction...don't let it. There is nothing stopping these two from just meeting so do that first.

Maybe the person previously in the position was a dick.

What if partnering with the PM by leveraging your teams unique skills will move the company towards its goals?

I'd try to figure out the goals of the larger organization, and how your team fits that and what the PM is seeking and see if there is alignment.

Look for the win-win.

Maybe he needs more resources and there is a larger problem in the organization that needs to be addressed in terms of resources?

You'll have to figure it out. Is the PM concern valid or not? Are the right person to help him? Maybe he just wants to meet the new co-worker and it's just friendly meeting to connect.

To add some detail: I work in a role that focuses on client-facing datapoints.

It's a volume business, since it could be everything from marketing data points to working with customer success to expand the relationship. In the first meeting, this PM wanted me to research his product, work with him to identify his products story, learn where the data sits to tell that story, find out how to regularly access the data, and then I'm assuming manage a recurring deliverable out to clients.

The guy I'm replacing said to me the volume of requests is so high we shouldn't own the search & access piece. Plus, my boss made it clear, we just need to keep the lights on for the first few months. So me accepting any sort of new responsibilities at this point doesn't seem smart.

And again, this isn't the only request I'm fielding to create new deliverables. It's just this guy is being very pushy.

Plenty of good advice already,

I'd be very curious why that guy is so aggressively pursuing some additional support that he isn't getting elsewhere.

Might tell him you're still getting ramped up and his request is outside the scope of your area as you understand it now, but you'd keep it in mind if you turn out to have that capacity once you get the lay of the land.

It could be an opportunity for you.

Could just be a pushy jerk to avoid at all costs.

This is where I am at. I want to align with my boss before responding. Maybe strategically, my boss and his boss does want to support PMs more. Maybe they don't, and I can respond accordingly in that direction too.

Back to my OP, I just don't want to come off as I'm running to my boss because this big bad PM is picking on me. I also don't want to jump the gun and just tell this PM to kick rocks.

If he's pestering you enough to the point where you're bothered enough to post about it on a message board, you should at least start registering it with your boss. You don't have to make it a conversation about I don't know what to do so I'm running to Dad. Just allow the situation to open up a broader discussion about where he wants your team to prioritize time and efforts, and letting him know that you're getting outside requests that haven't typically been handled by your team. If he's a good manager, he'll give you clear feedback on priorities.

good example of why I started my own business 21 years ago.

Wait. The PM wants you to tell him what his story is? He doesn't know his own product? And that's not your 1st concern?

This too easy. Talk to him, let him know you are collecting info about this situation, but you are still getting your feet on the ground with the new position and will get back to him once you have a better understanding of the situation. No need to commit, no need to confront.

12thMan9 said:

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Wait. The PM wants you to tell him what his story is? He doesn't know his own product? And that's not your 1st concern?

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I would guess, from personal experience, the company went Agile, got the titles and never really figured out what it actually meant.

Unless OP is on the IT/development side, in which case the PM might be trying to coordinate the work they are requesting.

aggiebq03+ said:

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txaggieacct85 said:

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good example of why I started my own business 21 years ago.

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Very subtle humblebrag there.

Now go away Barnes.

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actually not at all. I've been very happy to be a consultant on the outside looking in at Corporate drama and being very pleased I didn't have to get in the middle of it

500,000ags said:

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Long story short, I was promoted. It's a new, but somewhat related role to my previous position.

I have been training in this position for 1.5 business weeks (the Sr. Manager I'm replacing gave 2 weeks) and this Product Manager has already scheduled time on my calendar (day 3 of my training), he had his subordinate reach out to me (day 4), and he reached out to me again directly end of day today (day 6). When he spoke to me the first time, I thought the guy I was replacing scheduled the call, but it was the PM directly. He said he was "shaking the tree." Trying to get me and my new team to make new materials to support his product updates. All while I have 5-10 other things on my plate.

The person I'm replacing told my boss and his boss that this PM reaching out directly, is "jumping the gun." We haven't supported his team in the past, so much so there is no process to deny or accept.

I don't want to be unprofessional, because my first reaction is to tell this guy some not so nice things. But, I want to come off as well as possible to my boss and his boss.

Anyway to come off that I'm not ducking my tail, and also not being unprofessional?

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let your boss deal with it.