Overcome the New PO Jitters
Three Methods to Acclimate to Your New Product Owner Position
The expectation around company tenure has changed drastically. Years ago, stability was the career ideal. Frequent job changes on a resume would send up a red flag for hiring managers. But millennials, now the largest generation in the labor force*, see frequent change as the norm. For example, the average number of job changes for a professional under the age of 32 has increased from 2 to 4 compared to previous generations**. Additionally, per a CNN Money article, “today’s college grads don’t just change jobs, they often switch into entirely different industries”. These industry switches require quick acclimation to new professional environments. Mobility requires adaptability.
Easier said than done.
Starting somewhere new is stressful and overwhelming. You join a team without a solid foundation of credibility. You’re unsure of who will be your trusted partners and who might act as roadblocks. You’re hesitant to make waves but simultaneously hope to change things for the better. It’s a lot to process.
I’ve recently taken a product owner at a Fortune 500 company, managing a digital product team in a highly visible area of the business. There is a great deal of ambiguity and cultural complexity that I’ve needed to overcome quickly. And although I’m still dealing with the new person jitters, I’ve found that doing 3 things consistently has made my first 3 months much more manageable, effective and rewarding.
Meet with as many people as you can.
Often, there is a ramp up period where your schedule isn’t completely booked up yet. Try to fill in that available time with meet-and-greet conversations. You won’t have a ton of people to connect with at first, but your list will expand quickly. Make sure to ask for recommendations on who you should speak with next. Setting up these intro conversations is the fastest way to get acclimated and build an initial network.
When sitting down with people:
- Don’t be afraid to keep the conversations brief.
Sometimes a 30 minute one-on-one meeting is all that’s needed. The number one goal of these conversations is to establish a connection. - Offer to buy their coffee or drink.
You may not have a lot of intel/value to share with them yet, but a nice gesture goes a long way in building trust. - Take notes and revisit them as you talk to more people.
It’s amazing what happens when you connect disparate dots of data. Themes begin to emerge. You figure out cultural norms and taboos quickly. You learn the acronyms and distinct language. The more consistently you hear about a particular topic, the more pertinent it is to this organization. - Share what’s most important to you.
Talk about the 2–5 key things that you’d like to accomplish this year. Your new connection might have the interest and motivation to help you achieve those goals. - Understand what drives them.
What is the most important to this person at this moment? How might you help them achieve their goals? - Set up future conversations.
Let them know that you’d like to continue the discussion at a later date. The next time you meet, reference your notes and delve deeper into the topics you discussed previously.
Develop your own Objectives and Key Results (OKR).
It’s easy to bite off more than you can chew when first joining an organization. We all want to put our best foot forward, so we try to solve every problem that comes our way. But unfortunately, that approach leads to frustration when progress stalls and burnout when issues pile up. Instead, try narrowing your vision with an OKR.
In order to maximize the value of an OKR:
- Define 3–5 objectives with 3 or 4 KPIs for each objective.
Objectives should be broad enough to support different KPIs. KPIs should be measurable and attainable. Ultimately, you want to create goals and related measures that can be accomplished within a given time period. - Assess your progress on a monthly or quarterly basis.
Don’t be afraid to revise your OKR if variables change. The purpose of an OKR isn’t to shame yourself should you fail to meet your goals; it’s about being deliberate and thoughtful about tracking your efforts. - Balance personal and professional objectives.
It’s important to think about whole-person development. You aren’t just a professional in a specific field. You have outside interests. For example, if you want to start a new Medium publication, include that objective alongside business specific objectives. You’ll be amazed at how disparate aims might overlap in execution and complement each other. - Proactively review OKRs with your supervisor and/or mentor.
Request their feedback regularly. This will help with accountability. - Connect others’ objectives to your objectives.
This opens opportunities for collaboration and extends your development benefits to others.
Synthesize existing market and audience research.
If you’re joining an established company, there’s bound to be valuable information scattered throughout different teams and content repositories. Often, this data is siloed, duplicative or even in-congruent with other data. That said, those observations may lead to valuable conversations and new insights.
When reviewing existing research:
- Synthesize and contextualize:
Pull together key points from various sources to act as baseline knowledge of product, audiences, markets, etc. - Ask SMEs to validate observations:
Share the questions came to mind during your research. It gives you a chance to test out knowledge and also build out an incomplete picture. - Visualize findings:
Visualizing information might help retain key points. Plus, it makes it easier to share what you’ve learned with others in a quick and comprehensible way. - Apply this knowledge in relevant conversations:
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, share some assumptions and ask for validation. Often, your research and new perspective may spur a whole new take on a common problem.
Above all, be curious in your first 3 months.
You are starting with a clean slate — use that to your advantage. You have a grace period of making mistakes and asking “dumb” questions. Don’t let that opportunity escape you, because before you know it, people start to see you as part of the existing system. Here’s your chance to separate yourself while learning the culture.
In summary, when starting a new job, ask questions, read everything you can get your hands on and meet new people. You’ll find that new job jitters quickly subside when you establish a sense of control by taking these actions.
