Becoming a Product Leader — Introduction
This is an article series on moving from individual contributor Product Manager to people manager and Product Leader.
This is something that I’ve personally struggled with, and witnessed brilliant, hardworking, rockstar PMs struggle with. There are some solid articles on this already, as well as great guidance from the recent Cracking the PM Career book. But I still feel like there isn’t enough information out there on how to make this leap. It pains me to watch amazing PMs become jaded or even toxic as they find that they can’t seem to break into the next level.
So I wanted to break down my understanding of the kinds of outcomes and behaviors necessary in moving from IC to people manager. In this series, I’ll be sharing my own experiences in struggling with understanding and demonstrating these outcomes and building these skills.
A Big Leap
The hardest gap to cross in the Product Management career (other than breaking into PM at all) is moving from individual contributor to people manager and Product Leader.
Others have expressed this quite well, but it’s worth reiterating: what got you here won’t get you there.
As an individual contributor Product Manager, you can spend years honing your craft and focusing on doing your job better. You’ll see steady increases in scope and salary, moving from a junior PM, to mid-level, to Senior.
But at a certain point, all your hard work stops resulting in forward progress. You hit a point where you keep improving your skills, but you get passed over when that Group role that opens up. Or you max out on your capacity to drive initiatives, and you aren’t getting recognized for doing all the hard work. You get vague feedback on why you didn’t get the promotion, or unclear guidance on what you can do to position yourself for the next one. It seems like nothing you’re doing matters in making the leap to a Product Leader role (Lead Product Manager, Group Product Manager, Director, etc.).
Quite likely, you’re going about it wrong.
Just like breaking into Product Management, moving from an individual contributor PM into a managing PM is a role change. There are different responsibilities, different outcomes, different skills. Understanding this distinction is critical to successfully making the transition.
Product Leader vs. Product Manager
Every good Product Manager is a leader. They lead their teams, building excitement on a product vision, roadmap, and features. They lead key projects and initiatives, driving collaboration across a myriad of stakeholders. They lead meetings, brainstorming sessions, customer research calls, and a multitude of interactions.
But being a Product Leader means more than being a great Product Manager. PMs tend to operate within a limited scope of responsibility, limited to one or two teams. And PMs tend to be the primary driver for those teams.
Being a Product Leader is about inspiring and leading other PMs and leaders in the org and across the company, far beyond the outcomes of a single team. It’s about stepping away from being the individual driver, and guiding others to drive big parts of an even bigger problem.
Additionally, managing other PMs is a unique challenge, and one that PMs might think they’ve experienced as a result of having led teams. The reality is that great hiring and recruiting is time consuming and challenging. Coaching and mentoring other PMs is not as simple as knowing the answer and making sure they do it. Fostering growth in your team and creating a positive team culture requires thought and intention.
It’s All About Trust
Most great Product Managers could do a good job — even a great job — as a Product Leader. Eventually. If they got the opportunity, they could practice, get coaching, read books, do the work, and eventually become great. But getting that opportunity is where the challenge lies for a lot of PMs. Senior leaders don’t want to risk the harm a premature promotion can cause.
Having the potential to do the work is not the same as having done the work. Having the ability to shift mindset and focus is not the same as having already made that change.
You need to build trust with your manager, their manager, their peers, and with senior leadership that you can do the work and you can do it well.
So, what does this all look like?
What You Do and How You Do It
Demonstrating product leadership is about driving major outcomes and impact and the skills and traits of doing it well. It’s about impact at the organizational and business level, instead of the team level. And how you collaborate, the attitude you display, and the atmosphere you create determine whether other leaders trust you to lead.
This is a five part series. In each article, I’ll provide guidance and perspective on what matters and why, and share personal examples on how I made these changes.
Shifting Perspective:
The first step of any journey is internal. The biggest obstacle I faced in making the transition from Product Manager to Product Leader was my own mindset and attitude. Shifting this perspective was fundamental to unblocking my progress.
Driving Impact:
- Part 2: Driving Business Outcomes and Impact
- Part 3: Establishing Excellence in Product Management
- Part 4: Hiring as an Individual Contributor
This section covers the kinds of impact you should strive to achieve as a growing Product Leader. It’s about growing the organization and business via taking on larger initiatives, driving improvements in product processes, and leveling up the PM team.
Collaborative Leadership:
- Part 5: Influencing an Organization
Collaborating with other leaders to influence and effect change across an organization is an ever evolving challenge and the cornerstone of great leadership. While individual initiatives may succeed or fail, how you worked with people along the way indicates whether you and your organization will be successful over the long run.
About Me
I wanted to mention a bit about my background to provide context for these articles.
I got my start as a Product Manager about eight years ago, in mobile free to play gaming. I spent about three and a half years in gaming, launching multiple titles and leading multinational teams. I built up expertise in data analysis, economic modeling, monetization design, and live operations and optimization. I directly managed multidisciplinary teams and led projects with up to 50 developers. I left my position as a Director in 2017 when I decided to switch to more traditional software products.
I worked at Evernote for just under two years. My first year I spent working on the Growth Experimentation team as Product Lead, where I worked with my peers to learn and define what Growth meant at Evernote. We found new success with this team, expanding to three full scrum teams. I spent my next year working on the iOS platform and in new product discovery, building a case and defining an MVP for Tasks. This product was developed and released after I left, but it was based on the designs that my team defined and validated.
I moved to Autodesk in 2018, by way of the acquisition of PlanGrid, a construction productivity software solution. At PlanGrid / Autodesk, I managed one of our top used features across our entire construction software suite, while engaging in new product discovery for a feature that is now in beta. I applied and was promoted to Group Product Manager after a year and a half with Autodesk, after having built a case for a new product, coached and mentored several PMs, drove improvements to our hiring process, and led strategy on a large cross-organizational initiative. I now manage a team of three product managers, overseeing multiple product lines.
Summary
Becoming a Product Leader isn’t just about getting a promotion, a title change, or a new position. It’s about becoming the kind of person that can lead organizations and who other leaders want to follow. It’s a journey of many steps — from shifting your internal perspective, to taking on new and challenging initiatives, to practicing new ways of working with others. And each step on this journey will move you closer to being the kind of leader that you want to be.
When it comes to getting a title or promotion, there are no guarantees. This will not likely be a transaction in which you can negotiate, “if I do these three things, you will give me a promotion.” Instead, focus on becoming the person you want to be, and the opportunities will eventually align with your hard work and preparation.
With each article in this series, I’ll be sharing my perspective and personal experiences on the changes I made and the actions I took. I hope that the frameworks and examples help and guide you in your own journey towards becoming a Product Leader.
Next in the series, Part 1 of Becoming a Product Leader: Thinking Like a Leader.
Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts in the comments, and be sure to follow me to keep up with each update.
