Thread by @nurijanian

Ah, a PM joining an established team

Eager to make an impact. Ready to use your PM skills

But then reality slaps you:
🚨 Engineers already own the roadmap
🚨 They have years of context you don’t
🚨 And they don’t seem to need you

How do you earn trust & find your voice? ↓

I made this mistake repeatedly in my first years as a PM.

Joining teams with established dynamics, I'd immediately try to "add value" by:

- Questioning their roadmap
- Pushing for more discovery
- Inserting PM frameworks

The result? Quiet resistance and damaged relationships.

You want to make an impact quickly.
The team wants confirmation they hired someone who understands their world.

But here's what I've learned after 7+ years and multiple team transitions:

First impressions aren't about your PM skills - they're about trust.

Most PMs think their job is to immediately challenge assumptions.

But challenging before understanding is like criticizing someone's home before they've even given you the tour.

The first 30-60 days shouldn't be about changing direction.

Here's what actually works:

1) Relationship-building over roadmap-building

Have 1:1s with everyone. Not to gather requirements - to understand their world:

- Their history with the product
- Pain points in their workflow
- What success means to them personally

2) Get curious about constraints, not just opportunities

When engineers say "we should build X," don't jump to "but have we validated the problem?"

Instead, ask to get hidden context:
"What constraints led you to that solution?"
"What alternatives were considered and rejected?"

3) Seek small collaboration wins first

Don't try to own the entire roadmap immediately.

Pick one small aspect where you can add clear value:

- Improving a feature spec
- Creating better success metrics
- Structuring a user feedback session

Excel at the small before tackling the big.

4) Become the customer/data expert

While the team knows the solution space deeply, you can quickly build expertise in:

- Customer feedback patterns
- Analytics gaps
- Competitive landscape

Bringing this expertise makes you valuable without challenging existing plans.

5) Master the art of "Yes, and..." over "No, but..."

"Could we also track these metrics alongside your implementation?"
"I love that approach, and it could be even stronger if we..."
"While you build that, I'll work on validating these other assumptions..."

"If I don't make an impact quickly, they'll think I was a bad hire"

Reality: Teams judge you first on how well you understand their world and reduce their friction.

True PM impact is measured in quarters and years, not weeks.

Strong foundations beat quick, shallow wins.

"Senior stakeholders will always override me"

Reality: Influence doesn't come from your title or frameworks.

It comes from:
- Understanding their goals/constraints
- Bringing unique value (customer insights, structured thinking)
- Proving you can reduce their risk, not add to it

"I don't have time to build relationships before the roadmap is set"

Reality: This quarter's roadmap was likely set before you joined.

Your job isn't to disrupt it - it's to improve execution while positioning for influence next quarter.

Play the long game.

"My technical knowledge isn't strong enough to challenge engineers"

Reality: Your job isn't to challenge technical decisions.

It's to ensure those decisions serve user needs and business goals.

Strong PMs complement technical teams, not compete with them.

"I feel like I'm just a project manager here"

Reality: Every PM role starts with execution excellence.

Strategic influence is earned through:
1. Delivering on current commitments
2. Bringing unique insights
3. Gradually expanding your sphere of influence

The pattern I've seen after years of transitions:

Month 1: Understand and execute
Month 2: Bring unique value to existing plans
Month 3: Begin influencing next planning cycle

Trying to compress this timeline almost always backfires.

PM influence on established teams is like growing a garden:

- You can't rush the seasons
- The soil (relationships) matters more than the seeds (ideas)
- Small consistent efforts compound
- What's visible above ground is just a fraction of what matters

I'd love to hear your experiences:

- What worked when joining established teams?
- What approaches backfired?
- How long did it take you to find your voice?

And if you found this helpful, save it for your next role transition.

TL;DR: Finding your voice on established teams

- Build trust before challenging
- Master the context before changing it
- Focus on execution excellence first
- Bring unique customer/data expertise
- Position for influence in the next planning cycle
- Trust that impact compounds over time