Travel tips – for the road trip from product manager to product leader

I started this story by explaining why I chose to talk about product leadership at this year’s Leading The Product conference in Melbourne, then described how I felt product leadership was different from product management. This final chapter is my advice for any product managers who are looking to move into leadership roles. I’m going to keep with the road trip metaphor, I think it helps…

1. Get a good car

I don’t think many people would say no to a promotion or pay rise, but the reality is that you need to be recognised to get these things. It’s not enough to be doing a great job – if you are flying under the radar, you’re less likely to get the credit. The responsibility for that visibility is for everyone in this room full of product managers. So, if your career was a car, what make and model would it be?

If your personal brand was a car — what make and model would it be? It’s likely to evolve and update as you move through your career (I no longer drive a red Ford Fiesta)

Somethings to consider:

• Be easy to spot, be memorable
• What do you want to be known for?
• What does your organisation look for in its leaders?
• What do Product Leaders look like?

2. Start driving that car

Having a personal brand is not enough. And, while self-promotion may feel like an allergic reaction, there are some very natural ways you can ensure that your brand gets air time as part of your day job.

If there is an opportunity to join a company-wide initiative then take it — your skills will likely help make it a success (especially if you’ve been invited). Being part of cross-functional task forces and doing internal talks are great opportunities to leverage your skills. Sharing your experience with more junior team mates is a great thing to do (would you ever turn down the opportunity to learn from someone more experienced in product management than yourself?) Sharing your experience outside of your organisation is also great for the product management community.

The car is no use if left in the garage — find your community, start driving

Some things to consider:

• Company-wide initiatives
• Cross functional task forces
• Internal talks
• Mentoring junior team members
• Speaking at conferences
• Blogging and community
• Do you have a seat at the table?

3. Keep the car running

The lone multi-tasking product manager in a team of highly focused developers can often mean we feel like the weight of the world is on our shoulders. But the reality is that there is often more support than you think. When did you last ask your line manager for help?

Their role is to support you — so ask for feedback, and guidance on how to progress your career. The chances are that they have been in your situation before. Be open to receiving that feedback. Be ready to act on it. If your direct manager isn’t able to do this, then reach out to your product manager network (if you are here today then you’re hopefully open to building it, if you don’t have it already).

One of the best things about product conferences is the chance to swap war stories and remind yourself that you are not in it alone. Go one step further and talk about your career aspirations — ask the question — ‘how do I get to…?’ There’s a high chance someone here will inspire you, understand you, have good advice for you.

Add oil — when did you last ask your manager for help or support?

Some things to consider:

• Ask for feedback (and be open to receiving it)
• Grow your reach and your network
• Get advice from your manager
• Talk to other PMs and leaders
• Gather experience on the journey
• Are you enjoying the journey?

4. Choose a good route

If you want to travel from Darwin to Melbourne you have several choices.

• You could fly directly, it will take you 4 hours but you won’t see Uluru.
• You could take the train, it will take 5 days, the route is fixed and it stops for 1 night at Uluru
• You could hire a camper van and drive, it will take 2 weeks, you can spend as long as you wish at Uluru, as well as many other places along the way, you have the option to tweak the route along the way

Which option you choose to take should depend on what you want to do in Melbourne.

Do you need to be an expert in the red centre to get to Melbourne? Do you need to check-in on any other locations along the way? Or, do you trust that someone else can handle that?

Choose the best route to get your team from A to B, but also to get you from product manager to product leader

As a product leader your job is to understand the best strategy for getting both your product to Melbourne, and enabling your teams to take it there. One of the key differences between being a leader in name and a great, effective leader, is understanding the areas where your time is best invested. As a product manager your time spent on vision, strategy, planning and delivery will flex according to your role. Learn to say no to enough things to allow yourself time to impact high value areas.

Focus 80% of your time on the highest leverage (value adding) areas

For product mangers starting out on their leadership journey, letting go of the superhero cape and trusting your teams is half of the battle. Ensuring that you get the buy-in from your stakeholders is also critical. They also need to get to Melbourne… You may also need to provide air cover for teams. This is about understanding the context — or the work environment — quickly, and using your experience to make a call on the right thing to do. As well as enabling your teams this may also help you to elevate yourself to a more senior role.

Product leader cheatsheet — create delivery systems (structure & governance); build strong teams (hiring & performance management); help set a direction (product vision); maintain that direction (stakeholder management)

As product managers it might be that you are already doing these amazing things, but you’re not aware of it. If you want to move into a leadership role, you’ll need to be aware of the things that will distinguish you from others in the group and take the opportunity to ensure you are seen. It’s about being more effective with what you already have— keep being an awesome PM, but be mindful of where you focus your attention.

Product leadership journey: good car, start driving, add fuel, good route

I started this talk by reflecting on how as Product Managers the value we add is in helping organisations understand and solving customer problems. The more senior the role, the wider this influence stretches. Organisations increasingly realise that they need to do more to meet user expectations. Which is why there are more and more seats at boardroom tables for product leaders.

There is so much opportunity for product leaders to help build great organisations that build great products and services. And while there are many routes to product leadership, those who have had the hands on experience of being the product manager in a delivery team bring a unique perspective to leadership teams. The product role is what differentiates services, companies, products, and we need more great leaders in this space. Your product needs you, so start thinking about your product leadership journey.