It’s not luck. And it’s not charisma.
It’s how they package their choices.

Most people bring chaos. The best bring clarity.

If you pause and reflect, most of us have been taught the wrong formula for influence.

We think:
Influence = long meetings + persuasive storytelling + endless debate.

But in reality?
Influence = making decisions feel easy.

If you ignore upward influence, here’s what happens:

• Decisions stall.

• Pivots happen too late.

• Teams turn into feature factories.

The truth about influence

Influence isn’t showmanship. It’s framing choices that enable your executives to say yes, quickly and confidently.

You’re not trying to “sell” your idea. You’re making it safe to approve.

Executives don’t want more data. They want clarity and consequence.
They want to know:

• What outcome are we buying?

• What’s the risk if we don’t act?

• How does this align with the company’s goals or current pressure (ROI, runway, or retention)?

Right now, capital is tight. Everyone’s scanning for return. And with AI shrinking build times, the new bottleneck isn’t delivery, it’s decision quality.

Leaders who can guide decisions clearly, quickly, and confidently become indispensable.

A mini case study: Influence without the drama

The Situation:
Emma, Head of Product at a SaaS scale-up, felt invisible. Her ideas rarely landed. Exec meetings dragged on. By the time decisions were made, the team had already burned weeks, and morale was tanking.

She started questioning if she even belonged in the role.

The Shift:
Emma stopped pitching features. Instead, she packaged choices around outcomes.

She went into her next exec meeting with:

• A clear goal: Reduce churn by 10%.

• Three paths to get there, each with ROI and risk.

• One strong recommendation.

• A binary decision: yes/no + resources.

The Result:
The CEO made a call in minutes. The team moved fast. Churn dropped 8% that quarter. And more importantly, her confidence (and the team’s) skyrocketed.

No charm required. Just clarity.

The 3-step habit of quiet influence

1. Lead with outcomes, not effort.
   Execs don’t buy story points, they buy impact.

2. Frame three options, one recommendation.
   Choice = autonomy.
   Recommendation = leadership.

3. Ask for a binary decision + resource.
   No “let’s revisit next sprint.”
   No ambiguity. Just momentum.

You’re not dictating. You’re creating guardrails.
They set the runway. You land the plane.

The mindset shift: De-risk, don’t dominate

When the stakes are high, break big bets into smaller parts. Propose a small slice, deliver it, review it, and then expand. You’re not just making the decision easy, you’re making it safe.

Options = freedom. Guardrails = safety.

The ripple effect

When you lead with empathy, lower the threat level, and package decisions clearly, you get:

• Faster approvals.

• Fewer reversals.

• A calmer, more confident team.

That’s what real influence looks like, not loud, not political, but quietly powerful.

PS: If you’re ready to build that kind of influence, the kind that earns trust without drama, check out The Confidence In You program. It’s designed to help you move from managing features to leading strategy.

Let’s not sugarcoat it: product leadership in tech has never been more demanding.

Over the last six years, I have held six fractional CPO positions and helped over 1,000 product leaders. From what I can see, the role has become broader, the pressure higher, and the support smaller. Not the ideal scenario.

Even the most capable leaders tell me they feel like they’re constantly juggling chaos. They see shifting priorities, emotionally stoked stakeholder demands, tired teams struggling, and a gnawing sense that whatever they’re doing still isn’t quite enough.

If any of this sounds familiar, then worry not, you’re not alone. It’s not a personal failing.

Let’s step back and examine what is happening here. The environment and expectations have changed. The importance of purposeful leadership has grown.

So, what’s Changed

Over the last decade, I have witnessed six massive shifts that have reshaped the workplace, mainly for the better. When I started my career (in the 90s), the common culture inside companies was very different. Typically, the mindset was command and control. There was more focus on punctuality and hours worked than meaningful outcomes created. To put it bluntly, there was all management, not leadership.

Each of the following six changes has placed greater demands on leaders to lead, rather than manage. Unfortunately, many product leaders have not been given the support to master leadership. Very few product leaders have been taught how to lead; it is just expected to be learned through osmosis. Leading, not managing, is critical in fast-paced, high-stakes tech environments.

Leaders I coach tell me that being aware of the changes and refocusing their efforts has been a game-changer. They feel less stress and experience fewer stakeholder demands, and their team’s performance has improved. I hope this can help you too.

1. Remote & Distributed Teams

Global teams are now the norm. It is unusual to find a business where all the talent is in one city. Remote or distributed work is expected, which stretches leadership capabilities.

Building stakeholder and team trust requires more effort with less in-person communication. Ad hoc hallway conversations rarely occur. The over-reliance on Slack or MS Teams makes it very difficult to foster empathy between individuals.

Leaders are accountable for creating congruence or alignment across teams and stakeholders. It is your job to ensure people are paddling in the same direction. They must overcommunicate in remote environments because interactions are less intense and distractions are at their highest. For some leaders, it can be tempting to embrace the asynchronous communication methods and avoid repetitive conversations or meetings. It can feel like a productivity gain for the leader, but the quality of communication plummets; remember, communication is a two-way process. This leads to sharing only key information in a Notion or Google Doc, placing the responsibility on staff to have read and understood it. While writing things down to share is vital, it is not a replacement for discussing a message and being able to react in real time to respond and provide feedback.

Influence skills rely on communication and empathy. Roughly 80% of communication is nonverbal; a short Slack message does not convey the rolling of eyes, a deep breath, or a look of worry. Even video calls lose a significant level of non-verbal communication, but not as much as text-only. Leaders must put extra effort into influencing when in remote or distributed environments.

2. Demand for Emotional Intelligence & Psychological Safety

It might sound crazy, but caring more about the people in a business was not as popular just 15 years ago as it rightly is now. The 2012 Google Aristotle Project played a significant role in creating awareness among tech organisations of the importance of psychological safety. Leaders must make deliberate decisions to improve staff wellbeing and demonstrate EQ, not just IQ.

This is far more involved than simply managing outputs and measuring performance. Leaders must demonstrate cognitive empathy and invest time in understanding their staff’s emotions and needs. This doubles the value of receiving feedback and forces more attention when giving feedback.

Leaders I have worked with often shared that they feel like walking a tightrope when balancing performance and well-being. It should not be this way. Clear feedback can be given while also being considerate. The difficult conversations must still take place; don’t find excuses to avoid them.

3. Increased Uncertainty

Global political and economic changes, technological advancements (including AI), as well as the long-term effects of COVID-19, have increased the volume of layoffs, AI disruption, and economic instability.

This has created increased pressure at all levels; senior stakeholders want answers faster. Teams crave clarity and predictability. As a product leader, all parties have a stake in your work.

This makes it more critical than ever to share a clear product vision and strategy, thereby creating certainty in the area you can control. Sure, the roadmap might flex, but the vision needs to stay in focus. Your ability to align people and exploit the power of storytelling is vital. Many leaders I have interviewed for this newsletter have discussed the need to influence without formal authority. You can deliberately improve the situation and provide some level of stability in this wibbly wobbly world.

4. Inclusive, Non-Hierarchical Leadership

Over the last decade, the organisation chart and team structure have been completely turned on their heads. Many companies have recognised the enormous potential in diverse, cross-functional teams with shared power.

As a leader, this can feel harder, but it really is easier. Authority is earned, not given, which always leads to a better outcome. Success depends on the facilitation of the wonderful people in your organisation, not the command of them.

Your superpower is learning to distinguish between perspective and perception, enabling you to make faster and better decisions. Empathising with individuals' situations and managing their perception not only improves motivation but also allows you to influence teams positively.

5. Pressure to Prove Value

The pressure to prove value has gone full circle over time. We find ourselves in a place where return on investment (ROI) and profit are the focus of growth. It will change in time, and revenue or MAUs will become the most essential currency again, but right now it’s cold, hard cash.

The focus on profit can make it more difficult for product leaders to justify investment. Long-term strategic bets are under more scrutiny and require more convincing of those who manage the purse strings, typically the board of directors. This needs product leaders to frame discovery evidence as due diligence and tightly link it to the five-year business plan. The number of long-term bets funded is likely to decrease, so more care is needed in selecting those that have a better chance of success and offer larger prizes. This places a greater emphasis on strong product management, not less.

The shift in value measurement to ROI increases the focus on delivery efficiency. I coach many product leaders who face pressure to build the product, with the responsibility landing entirely on their shoulders, rather than being shared in a partnership with the technology leaders. This is politics, and needs to be unravelled as shipping new products is a team sport.

The product leader faces a new challenge in a world driven by rapid profits. You must protect space for creativity. If embryonic ideas are not given time to grow, your innovation will die. If your company is genuinely a product business, then innovation equals growth, and the reverse is also true. No innovation equals decline.

6. Identity Crisis in Product Leadership

The product manager and product leader roles have been evolving and changing shape nonstop throughout my 20+ year career. I love this, it means we are not standing still, instead we are continuously improving. However, there is a dark side; many leaders I coach have expressed an identity crisis. They feel their role has shifted from product flag bearer to team integrator.

My observation is that the product has always filled the white space between functions in order to improve the outcome for customers and achieve business goals. The white space in many organisations today is knitting the parts together to make a better whole.

The challenges include unclear authority, inconsistent expectations across functions within your organisation, and often being expected to lead without being given the necessary space. Partnering with stakeholders effectively is more critical than ever.

The leaders in Confidence In You, my flagship leadership development program, often have a breakthrough moment when we focus on leadership identity. Too frequently, your leadership identity or leadership signature has been given to you over the years of your career. Extraordinary leaders don’t accept this; they deliberately decide what they want their identity to be.

So… What Can You Do?

These shifts are fundamental and will not go away. However, you can lead effectively, sustainably, and with confidence if you evolve your leadership approach.

That’s where the CALM Leadership Method is practical. It’s not just a mindset. It’s a modern leadership model built for the modern environment.

Leading With CALM

When the pressure’s on, it’s tempting to default to control, speed, or noise. However, extraordinary product leaders understand that influence originates from a different place. That’s why the CALM method is a robust foundation: Clarity, Authority, Learning, and Momentum. These four pillars shift you from firefighting to leading with confidence. Clarity cuts through uncertainty by aligning your team on what matters most. Authority is about guiding through trust rather than micromanagement. Learning keeps you curious and connected, unlocking better decisions. Momentum helps you drive sustainable progress without burning yourself or your team out.

Think of it this way: Clarity gives direction. Authority earns trust. Learning builds insight. Momentum sustains progress. Together, they form a leadership approach that fosters calm even in the most chaotic environments. When you show up this way, people feel supported, confident, and focused. If you adopt CALM Leadership, you create the space to lead strategically rather than constantly reacting.

Final Thought

If you’re exhausted, you’re not broken; you’re leading in a broken system.
But there is a better way.

When you shift from reacting to leading with CALM, you reduce stress, improve team trust, and regain your sense of purpose.

PS: Want help putting CALM into practice? Join me at the upcoming Masterclass. You’ll leave with fundamental tools, renewed clarity, and an action plan to move forward.

Most leaders think harmony equals health. If everyone’s smiling, nodding, and moving fast, the team must be strong, right? But here’s the uncomfortable truth: constant agreement doesn’t mean unity; it means silence. It means people are holding back, avoiding friction, or playing it safe.

That “peaceful” meeting you’re proud of? It’s often the graveyard of good ideas. When no one pushes back, challenges the logic, or asks the hard questions, the team isn’t aligned; it’s asleep.

The truth is, high-performing teams don’t avoid disagreement; they embrace it. Intel’s Andy Grove once said,

“If everybody’s thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.”

He knew that real progress requires diverse perspectives, and those perspectives only surface when people feel safe to disagree.

Netflix took this principle to heart by institutionalising dissent. They made disagreement a responsibility, not an act of rebellion. In one strategy meeting, CEO Reed Hastings proposed a new profit product, which seemed to have gone down well, with no challenges raised, and everyone nodding along silently, possibly because they didn't want to disagree with the CEO. Most leaders would have called it a win.

Instead, rumours say, Reed stopped the discussion and stated: “If you disagree and you’re not speaking up you are harming the company.”

He stopped the meeting and rescheduled it. Next time, people raised concerns, surfaced risks, and uncovered blind spots that would have derailed the plan down the road.

“We now say that it is disloyal to Netflix when you disagree with an idea and do not express that disagreement. By withholding your opinion, you are implicitly choosing to not help the company.” - Reed Hastings, from No Rules Rules: Netflix and the culture of reinvention.

That moment of tension didn’t weaken the team’s trust; it strengthened it. Agreement feels comfortable, but it’s a healthy debate that sharpens thinking and builds resilience. This culture will drive innovation and growth.

So how can you create that kind of culture in your team?

1. Make disagreement a responsibility. Everyone owns the job of poking holes in ideas.

2. Create space for debate. Don’t rush to the “easy yes.” Make room for the hard “what if.”

3. Disagree, then commit. Debate hard in the room, but once a decision is made, move forward as one.

4. Leaders go last. If you speak first, you shape the conversation. Hold back and let your team test the thinking before you weigh in.

The aim is the sweet spot between supporting and challenging.

At this point, you might worry that encouraging disagreement will slow things down or damage morale. The truth is, it does the opposite. Debate can feel messy in the moment, but it prevents wasted months chasing strategies that should have been killed early. And when handled well, disagreement doesn’t fracture relationships; it strengthens them.

Why? Because people feel respected when their perspective is heard, even if it doesn’t win. Silence erodes trust; healthy dissent builds it. The most dangerous thing for a team isn’t conflict. It’s fake harmony.

So here’s the bottom line: if your team never disagrees, you’re not aligned, you’re asleep. The strongest teams argue, debate, and challenge each other… then step out of the room fully committed to the path ahead.

Harmony doesn’t create growth. Tension does.

Is your team too agreeable?

Let’s fix that. Drop me an email or ping me on LinkedIn, and I’ll share a practical framework to build healthy dissent into your next meeting.

You’re not alone.

I coach product leaders every day, and here's what I hear all the time:

“I wake up stressed.”
“I can’t think straight in meetings.”
“I feel like I’m reacting, not leading.”
“I’ve lost the joy in my work.”

If any of that rings true, you’re likely missing one crucial thing: a moment to reset.

The power of 5 calm minutes

I coach professionals to become calm leaders with presence—the kind of leader who stays centred under pressure, leads with clarity, and inspires others without burning themselves or their teams out.

One tool I come back to again and again is what I call the 5-Minute Leaders Reset.

I used it when I was a full-time Chief Product Officer. I teach it to my clients.
And I’ll be honest, as a fractional CPO, things unravel fast when I forget to follow the daily 5-minute leaders reset.

A few months ago, during a particularly chaotic period in a fractional CPO role, I let the habit slide. The result?

I became reactive, defensive, and stressed. I felt isolated and overwhelmed. My motivation dipped, and I dreaded the workday.

I was doing all the tasks… but wasn’t being the leader I wanted to be.

Within a week of resuming this 5-minute practice, I felt like myself again: calm, confident, and in control. My leadership had presence, not panic.

Why it works

This isn’t magic, it’s neuroscience and behavioural habit-building.

The reset:

• Calms your nervous system with box breathing

• Reclaims your time, energy and emotional clarity

• Shifts your mindset to a place of progress and possibility

• Anchors your attention on what matters

• Breaks the stress-react loop before it spirals

This is your leadership armour to prepare you for a meaningful day.
It is your reset button.
And it’s only a 5-minute leadership investment.

Let’s walk through it now:

🕔 The 5-Minute Leaders Reset

Each step takes no more than 1 minute. Do it at your desk, or on your commute (not while driving!).

1. Clear Your Mind
Use box breathing to reset your nervous system. Inhale through your nose for 3 seconds. Hold your breath in for 3 seconds. Slowly exhale through your mouth for 3 seconds. Hold with empty lungs for 3 seconds. That is it, simple.

Try to do this four times. Your thoughts will settle.

2. Recognise Wins
Could you write down three small wins from yesterday?
Big or small, it doesn’t matter.
Mine today:
– I honestly chatted with a team member and reset boundaries (it wasn’t as difficult as I had feared).
– I read an article on enterprise AI agents
– I took a proper lunch break and ate away from my desk.

This rewires your brain to notice progress and keep celebrating the small wins.

3. Declutter Tasks
Look at your to-do list. What can you delete or delegate?
The aim is to let go of just one task that’s no longer serving you, or empower someone else (even an AI agent) to take it. Only one, as you only have 1 minute to do this.

This frees up time and builds trust.

Today, I was going to complete a task called 'preparing for a client meeting in three days,' but I realised I didn’t need to attend. Instead, I delegated the task to one of my team members for the meeting. I just added two hours back to my schedule. 🎉

4. One Intention
Set your intention for the day:

“What’s one thing I want to influence today?”

Pick that one thing, and then label it. Keep it simple.

Today, mine is: Influence pricing strategy towards a consumption model.
Label: Consumption Gold
That’s it—no planning, we only have one minute. Just create presence and agency.

5. Question Pressure
Take today’s biggest stress that is plaguing you and flip it into a question. Use the following prompts to help…

“How can we ….?”
or
“What would need to be true for …. to go well?”

This simple shift turns pressure perception into perspective.
You don’t need all the answers; you need better conversations.

The hard part? Making it stick.

The practice is simple. But building the habit? That’s where most leaders fall off.

Here’s my challenge to you:

• Do it daily for 1 week.

• Then do it on Monday after the weekend; now keep it going for three more weeks.

• By week 4, it will feel like a regular part of your daily routine.

To help, I’ve created a video that walks you through the 5-minute daily leader reset, along with a simple worksheet you can download, and the option of four short email reminders to keep you on track.

👉 Click here to get your copy.

Bonus: Join the retreat

If this resonates with you and you’re ready to become a calm leader with presence, join me at the Product Leader Retreat 2025.

We will discuss everything you need to lead without burnout. Be calm. Have confidence. Make your mark.

🎟 Limited to 20 tickets only, see full details here.

Sandy Huang, former VP of Product at GoodRx and veteran of Amazon, Shutterfly, and various industries from e-commerce to healthcare, reminds us that your team can’t thrive if they don’t feel understood — and that understanding comes from experience. We’ll explore why empathy is more than emotional intelligence, how to build it, and how it creates stronger, more resilient teams.

The Challenge: Leading Without Understanding

Too many product leaders step into management and forget what it was like to be a product manager. Some have come from a different path and haven’t spent much time being a product manager. They trade roadmaps for strategy decks, sprint planning for leadership meetings — and slowly, they lose touch. The result? Teams that feel unsupported, misunderstood, and burned out.

You can’t build trust from a distance or without understanding.

“How well can you lead your team if you haven’t been in the trenches?”

That’s the straight-talking challenge Sandy Huang throws down. Empathy isn’t a checkbox; it takes deliberate effort, and if you don’t have shared experience, that effort will be significantly larger.

Empathy can be forged through experience.

“I firmly believe successful product leaders have to be in the trenches. When people haven’t had a long history in product yet they are product leaders, I wonder, how well can you lead a team without that empathy?”

She’s not talking about cognitive empathy. She’s talking about earned empathy — the kind that comes from being an individual contributor (IC) long enough to have navigated a variety of challenges and build real perspective.

“Product managers are in a weird position — when things go wrong, they’re accountable. When things go right, the credit typically goes to engineering or design. There are a lot of dynamics to figure out and manage. Empathy from having done the job yourself makes you that much stronger of a leader.”

The Solution: Empathy Built Through Doing

Sandy didn’t just transition smoothly from IC to leader—she bounced back and forth between the two for years, not because she couldn’t let go, but because she valued what she gained each time she returned to the coalface.

“I went in and out of management because I just loved the IC work. But eventually, I realised I could make more impact as a leader — and the empathy I built through years of IC work is what made that possible.”

She’s clear: The more time you’ve spent navigating product chaos, the better you’ll be at helping your team through it.

“Your team is still deep in those challenges. You’re not anymore - at least not at the same level. But you were. That shared experience matters. That’s what lets you say: I know this is hard — and here’s how we’ll get through it.”

5 Ways to Lead with Empathy

Want to build stronger relationships with your team and be the kind of leader they actually trust? Start here:

1. Spend time in the trenches
   You don’t need to be writing tickets, but stay close enough to understand what’s hard — and why.

2. Recognise invisible effort
   Not all wins are shippable. Praise the stakeholder alignment, the difficult conversations, and the things that quietly made everything else possible.

3. Use your experience wisely
   Don’t lecture. Relate. Share your own past struggles to normalise the hard stuff and help your team navigate.

4. Pull insights, don’t push fixes
   Ask: “What’s been tough this sprint?” or “What trade-offs are you making?” Let your team members bring their world into your view.

5. Coach for self-recognition
   Especially for quieter team members, help them see and share their own impact — and teach them it’s not bragging, it’s visibility.

Mistakes to Avoid

• Skipping the IC phase: Fast-tracking into leadership without time as a product or related IC leaves you shallow. Your team will notice.

• Confusing empathy with being soft: Being empathetic doesn’t mean lowering the bar — it means understanding the struggle and helping your team rise to it.

• Empathise only when things go wrong. Build connections continuously, not just in a crisis. It’s not damage control—it’s daily practice.

Final Thoughts: Empathy is a Leadership Multiplier

You can’t lead through slides. You can’t connect through strategy docs. You lead through people. People respond to leaders who get it.

Sandy put it best when describing the kind of leader she admired:

“Her superpower was connection. Her level of empathy, the way she developed each person, gave feedback — it created a loyalty I’d never seen before. That’s what inspires me.”

Empathy doesn’t mean hugging your team. It means having their back because you understand what they’re carrying.

So here’s the real test of your leadership: Do your people feel seen? Do they feel understood? If not, it might be time to work more closely alongside them on a project to remember what it’s like.

Confident product leaders don’t just lead from the front — they remember what it was like to be in the mud. And they never forget how it felt.

“What am I doing wrong, and what do I have to do to get to the next level?” is a common question asked by senior product managers and early-stage leaders such as the group product manager or product director. The people who ask me this question are hard-working, passionate about product, and ambitious. But for one reason or another, they feel they have hit a career ceiling.

It can be so frustrating for individuals trying their best. I hear people who are highly capable and have loads of potential question if product management is the right career for them. This is not because they don’t enjoy it, but because they can’t break into the leadership level they desire.

Many product professionals aspire to become VPS or CPOS, but the path is rarely straightforward. Unlike fields with clear hierarchies or legally required certifications, product management leadership emerges from a mix of skills, experiences, and, often, unexpected opportunities.

Through research, firsthand insights from experienced leaders, and my own experience coaching or training hundreds of product leaders, this article outlines advice to help you journey from individual contributor to product executive.

So, How Long Does It Take to Become a Product Leader?

The journey to product leadership varies widely, as do the role sizes, even with the same job title. A CPO might have fewer staff or budget control in an early-stage company than a group product manager in a larger firm. The accountability and risk impact is typically far more significant with the CPO, where getting it wrong could mean the end of the business.

Researching LinkedIn profiles and job adverts shows that most product managers take 10 years or more to reach senior leadership roles, but there is quite a variance, with some making it to the top in just 5 years. Factors influencing this timeline include company size, industry, access to mentorship, and the ability to build strategic influence.

The following shows a typical career progression, although the number of years is far less important than what you are actually doing in that time:

• 0-3 years: Associate or Junior Product Manager

• 3-5 years: Product Manager

• 5-8 years: Senior Product Manager

• 8-12 years: Director of Product (often requiring 8-12 years of experience)

• 12+ years: VP of Product or Chief Product Officer (typically requiring 12+ years of experience)

Some leaders accelerate this timeline through entrepreneurial ventures, working in high-growth environments, or stepping into leadership roles earlier in startups. Research from LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and product management career reports supports these timeframes as industry norms.

Common Paths to Product Leadership

Based on interviews with product leaders and experts, several themes emerged about how they reached leadership roles. Here are some of the most common trajectories:

1. Learning from example

Chris Jones (SVPG) described his journey into product as "really accidental." He started in software development but soon realised he wasn’t suited for it. After running his own consultancy, he was hired into his first product management role at a startup. "That was when the switch really turned on for me," he said. He credits great mentors with reshaping his understanding of leadership: "Until you're actually shown by somebody what it looks like in action...you only think you're leading.”

2. Caring enough to take the lead

In multiple conversations with seasoned VP Product and CPOs, they have shared that their career boost was down to caring enough to do something about a problem. In a few cases, as senior product managers, they allowed their passion to overtake any doubt they had in self-confidence (and all of them had this doubt), resulting in proactively leading initiatives to drive an impact. They were not appointed, nor did they ask permission.

3. Strategic initiative experience

Berit Hoffmann started in enterprise technology and worked across startups and large corporations, gradually taking on leadership roles in increasingly strategic projects. She explains how she learned influence without authority as a product manager, which won her the opportunity to be involved in more strategic initiatives. She highlighted the importance of broadening her influence: “I found myself in more strategic positions over time, which naturally led to leadership.”

4. Entrepreneurship as a Gateway

Jane Austin’s first leadership experience came from necessity: "The company went spectacularly bankrupt... so I phoned clients and said, ‘Do you have anyone looking after your account?’ And they said no. And I said, ‘Well, I’ve got a business.’" While the new venture was eventually acquired, running it early in her career gave her invaluable business acumen to carry into a product leadership role.

5. Moving from a Related Field

Many product leaders didn’t start as product managers. Analysing the career history of CPOs on LinkedIn shows a significant number migrated into product after learning management and early stage leadership in a different field. Other fields were typically customer-focused, including marketing and customer success.

Key Strategies for Moving into Product Leadership

While no two paths are identical, common strategies stand out among product leaders:

1. Mastering Stakeholder Influence

Product leadership isn’t just about making product decisions—it’s about influencing others. Jane Austin emphasised learning to navigate difficult personalities and team dynamics: "I used to really worry about people liking me. And then I had this epiphany: I don’t like them, so why does it matter if they like me? I just need to be respected.”

2. Developing Commercial Acumen

Understanding the financial side of a product is critical. Multiple leaders I interviewed emphasised the importance of basic business understanding. They talked about understanding the business model; some used the business model canvas to summarise it. Across the board, everyone agrees you must understand basic financial concepts; the language of business is finance.

3. Finding a Mentor (or Several)

Many product leaders credit their growth to mentorship. Chris Jones learned leadership by watching his own manager at Vontu: "They not only taught me, but they modeled it... they showed me hiring, developing people—this was not something you do in the cracks. This was the job."

4. Taking Ownership Beyond Job Titles

Elana Jacobs emphasised stepping up before being given an official leadership role: "My leadership journey began early, even when I wasn’t officially managing people." She took responsibility for major projects, which made leadership a natural next step.

5. Balancing Vision with Execution

Auriga Martin, now a fractional CEO, described leadership as bridging big-picture vision with execution: "I love to push teams out of their comfort zone, but I always hire pragmatists to balance me out." She stressed that great leaders must both inspire and enable their teams.

Conclusion: Charting Your Own Course

While product leadership isn’t a one-size-fits-all journey, the common threads are clear: seek out strategic influence, develop business acumen, learn from mentors, and step up before you’re asked. Whether you get there through entrepreneurship, climbing the corporate ladder, or making a lateral move, the key is to continuously and deliberately expand your ability to lead others and drive meaningful outcomes.

For senior product managers or new product leaders looking to advance, the message is simple: Leadership isn’t a promotion—it’s a mindset shift. Start leading where you are, and the role will follow.

We’ve all seen it: a visionary leader with groundbreaking ideas but no grounded path to get there. The result? Missed deadlines, frustrated teams, and "vaporware" rather than tangible results. The tension between dreaming big and getting things done is real—and it can derail even the most talented product leaders.

As Auriga puts it:
"The North Star might be an amazing dream, but the road to get there can be brutal if you don’t have the right balance."

So, how do you prevent visionary ambition from becoming chaos? By pairing big thinkers with pragmatic doers.

A Real-World Example

Auriga Martin shares her experience as a high-energy leader managing teams in fast-moving environments.

"I hire pragmatists everywhere I go—structured, black-and-white thinkers who thrive on grounding lofty visions. It’s why I often find myself in sectors like financial services, where ideas must work in a spreadsheet to be real."

Her teams don’t just execute; they challenge her to step outside her comfort zone, creating a healthy push-and-pull dynamic. This balance helps them achieve ambitious goals without losing sight of practical constraints.

Balance Through Complementary Strengths

Auriga highlights the importance of hiring for polarity—building teams with diverse skills and temperaments to create “healthy tension.” Visionaries push boundaries, while pragmatists ensure the path forward is grounded in reality.

"Healthy tension fosters robust thought and debate. Without it, you risk either stagnation or chaos," she explains.

This balance isn’t just about hiring; it’s about fostering an environment where differences are respected and leveraged. Product leaders need to act as bridges, narrating the journey and ensuring everyone feels safe and aligned.

Key Steps to Achieve This Balance

1. Hire for Complementarity
   Look for team members who bring skills you lack. For visionaries, this means finding pragmatic thinkers who love execution.

   • Example: Structured project managers or detail-oriented engineers.

2. Encourage Healthy Debate
   Create a culture where ideas are challenged, not personalities. Promote a "safe-to-fail" environment for testing and refining bold ideas.

3. Narrate Progress
   To maintain morale and alignment, regularly remind teams of their progress. As Auriga says, "Be the company historian—it keeps the team grounded and motivated."

4. Invest in Resilience
   Recognise that tension can create stress. Equip your team with the tools and support needed to thrive in challenging situations.

Mistakes to Avoid

• Too Many Visionaries, Not Enough Doers
  A team of dreamers will struggle to deliver. Balance is key.

• Stifling Debate
  Avoid environments where disagreement is discouraged. Innovation thrives on constructive conflict.

• Ignoring Pragmatists’ Input
  If grounded thinkers feel dismissed, their motivation and trust will erode quickly.

Conclusion

Building a team that balances vision and execution isn’t just a nice to have; it’s essential for sustainable success. Whether you’re a growing product leader aspiring to refine your leadership style or an emerging product leader stepping into your first team management role, understanding the value of complementary skills will set you apart.

Auriga Martin sums it up best:
"No one person is more powerful than the whole. True leadership is about designing for balance and bringing out the best in others."

How do you balance vision and execution on your team? Share your thoughts, and let’s keep the conversation going!

Many product leaders struggle to balance team autonomy and organisational cohesion. Too much independence risks chaos, while too much control stifles innovation. How can leaders foster teams that effectively self-govern, stay aligned with broader goals, and adapt like nature itself?

Biomimicry: Nature’s Blueprint for Leadership

Auriga Martin introduced a game-changing concept: biomimicry in team design. Nature, she explained, thrives on systems that are self-sustaining, resilient, and adaptive. Think of a tree. It monitors its health as a whole, yet individual branches and leaves function semi-independently.

“The strongest design on our planet comes from nature,” Auriga noted. “A self-governing team is like a robust ecosystem—balanced, self-monitoring, and capable of surviving shocks without falling apart.”

She shared her own experiments in blending visionary leadership with structured team autonomy, emphasising how biomimicry offers a practical model for modern organisations.

The Solution

To create self-governing teams, Auriga advocated for designing teams as systems, where every part contributes to the whole but is empowered to act independently. Key to this approach is cultivating balance:

1. Complementarity: Hire pragmatists to counterbalance visionaries, ensuring that big ideas are paired with actionable execution.

2. Shared Purpose: Establish a unifying "North Star" that aligns everyone’s efforts, much like the role of the root system in supporting a tree.

3. Resilience over Redundancy: Build redundancy in the team’s capabilities. If one person or function falters, others can adapt and step in.

Auriga called this “self-governing, not anarchy,” stressing that autonomy needs direction and boundaries to thrive.

Key Steps to Create a Self-Governing Team

1. Analyze Team Dynamics: Use frameworks like personality profiling to balance team composition and address communication gaps.

2. Model Nature’s Resilience: Design processes that allow for recovery and adaptability without relying on one critical piece.

3. Be the Narrator: As a leader, narrate progress and keep the team’s focus on shared goals. Celebrate milestones to reinforce unity.

4. Embed Psychological Safety: Build trust by recognizing and addressing workplace micro-traumas, fostering camaraderie in the process.

Mistakes to Avoid

1. Confusing Autonomy with Isolation: Teams need guidance and a shared direction, not free rein to act independently without coordination.

2. Over-relying on Visionaries: A visionary without grounding pragmatists can destabilize a team.

3. Ignoring Balance: Too much control breeds rigidity; too little invites chaos. Strike a balance.

Conclusion

Nature holds the secret to sustainable, adaptable teams. Biomimicry offers a fresh lens for product leaders to design self-governing teams that thrive in complex environments. As Auriga put it, “No one person is more powerful than the whole.” Embrace this principle, and you’ll not only grow as a leader but also inspire teams to flourish together.

Fear of Risk and its Impact on Leadership

Risk is often synonymous with fear—fear of failure, rejection, or criticism. For product leaders, this fear can manifest as hesitance to advocate for bold ideas or challenge decisions. Whether you're a seasoned leader or just stepping into management, this avoidance of risk can prevent you from being seen as a true change-maker.

Elana Jacobs reflected on her early career:
"I stayed quiet when I heard something that didn’t sit right... I was too timid. I largely implemented other people's ideas."

Does this sound familiar? Many leaders, particularly those still finding their footing, fall into the trap of playing it safe, waiting for validation rather than seizing opportunities.

Taking Risks to be Heard

Elana’s breakthrough came when she decided to trust her instincts. At Crisis Text Line, she began challenging the status quo and advocating for innovative ideas—even when the task seemed daunting.

"I started becoming less timid and spoke up and shared new ideas or new directions", she explained. "Sometimes, that meant telling the CEO, 'I don’t think this is a good idea.' Respectfully, of course."

The result? Her confidence grew, and she gained recognition as a leader invested in advancing the company’s mission.

Building Confidence Through Calculated Risks

Confidence isn’t something you’re born with—it’s built. And taking calculated risks is one of the most effective ways to build it. Elana emphasises the importance of being bold while staying rooted in respect, data, and clear communication:

"Approach disagreement or a different direction from a place of respect with whatever data or information you have at hand. The worst that can happen is they say no."

By sticking her neck out, she didn’t just contribute to better decisions. She also solidified her role as a trusted leader.

Key Steps for Leaders

For Growing Product Leaders (Directors, Heads of Product, VP Product):

1. Advocate for Bold Ideas: When you see an opportunity, speak up. Use data and insights to strengthen your case.

2. Challenge Respectfully: It’s okay to push back—senior leaders value those who think critically about the business’s direction.

3. Model Courage: Your team watches how you act. Show them that risks are opportunities, not threats.

For Emerging Product Leaders (Senior/Principal PMs):

1. Start Small: Test the waters with smaller risks, such as proposing a new feature or process improvement.

2. Lean on Data: Build confidence by grounding your ideas in evidence.

3. Embrace Discomfort: Speaking up is nerve-wracking, but every attempt makes the next one easier.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Being Reckless: Risk-taking doesn’t mean charging ahead without preparation. Always evaluate potential outcomes.

2. Equating Boldness with Aggression: Confidence isn’t about being loud—it’s about being thoughtful and intentional.

3. Ignoring Feedback: Risk-taking includes listening and adapting based on what others share.

Confidence Grows with Every Risk

As Elana wisely pointed out, confidence comes from action. The more you step into discomfort and challenge norms, the more natural it will feel. Whether you’re advocating for a bold vision or respectfully challenging a decision, each risk you take strengthens your leadership muscle.

Remember, risk isn’t about recklessness—it’s about thoughtful, courageous action. So, take that leap. Your future confident self will thank you.

Diversifying Without Burning Out

Leadership can feel like an endless tightrope walk: balancing competing priorities, scaling teams, and ensuring personal growth. For the growing product leader, the challenge is to sustain energy while leading at scale. For the emerging product leader, it’s about crafting a career trajectory that blends passion and growth. The key, as Auriga puts it, is treating your career as a “portfolio of pursuits”.

Creating a Portfolio of Purpose

Auriga embodies the portfolio mindset. She thrives on purpose-based initiatives, bridging public and private sectors, coaching founders, and fostering female leadership. “I love to catalyse and disrupt in a positive way,” she shares. “When you find purpose and align with groups of humans, you will always find profit.”

For her, the secret to managing multiple pursuits lies in surrounding herself with balanced teams. “I hire pragmatists everywhere I go... It keeps us grounded while we push boundaries,” she explains.

Structuring Your Portfolio

A portfolio-driven career isn’t about doing everything; it’s about aligning your work with what energises you. Auriga’s approach includes:

• Purpose-first Alignment: Ensure every role or project aligns with your values. As Auriga says, “Sustainable business models stand on their own two feet when they align with purpose.”

• Balancing Teams: Complement your energy with team members who bring structure and pragmatism.

• Building Resilience: Reflect on failures and celebrate progress to stay grounded.

For emerging leaders, she emphasises the importance of building a backup plan—always investing in “Plan B and C” to hedge against setbacks.

Key Steps

1. Map Your Interests: Identify roles or projects that energise and excite you.

2. Audit Your Network: Cultivate a “personal board” of mentors and peers to keep you accountable and inspired.

3. Celebrate Wins: Document and reflect on milestones to sustain momentum.

4. Balance Your Team: Hire and collaborate with individuals who complement your style and bring stability.

Mistakes to Avoid

1. Taking On Too Much: Avoid being the whirlwind that breeds chaos. Instead, focus on structured growth.

2. Neglecting Team Dynamics: A portfolio leader isn’t a lone ranger. Ensure your team is equally aligned and engaged.

3. Chasing Vaporware: Align your North Star with achievable outcomes, avoiding overpromised ambitions.

Conclusion

Balancing diverse pursuits isn’t just about adding more to your plate—it’s about crafting a career that energises and sustains you while delivering real impact. As Auriga puts it, “Find people smarter than you and stick to them like glue. Build a portfolio of interests and always invest in your growth.”

Are you ready to craft your portfolio of pursuits? Start by aligning your ambitions with your purpose, and watch your leadership thrive.

Product leaders often face decisions where the right path isn’t clear, and the stakes feel immense. Elana puts it succinctly: “In high-impact contexts, the first thing is to do no harm.” Balancing user needs, business objectives, and ethical considerations is never straightforward. Leaders must navigate ambiguity, limited data, and the risk of unintended consequences.

It’s no wonder that some product leaders get stuck in analysis paralysis or, worse, make decisions that erode trust with their teams or users.

When the Stakes Are Lives

Elana faced a particularly daunting challenge at Crisis Text Line, a service providing text-based crisis intervention. Initially, users were served in the order they reached out. But with issues ranging from homework anxiety to immediate risk of self-harm, it became clear that a triage system was needed.

“We wanted to prioritize those in imminent danger,” she explains. “But introducing a triage system using a language-learning model wasn’t risk-free. What if the system missed critical cues or misunderstood cultural nuances in how people express crises?”

The team approached this cautiously. They started with dummy data, tested the model on low-risk populations, and incrementally scaled its implementation. This deliberate approach ensured the system didn’t compromise anyone’s safety.

A Framework for Decision-Making

Elana’s approach offers a replicable framework for making high-stakes decisions:

1. Do No Harm: This principle guided every step at Crisis Text Line. Before moving forward, evaluate whether the decision could lead to unintended negative consequences.

2. Prioritise Clarity Over Certainty: “You’ll rarely have all the data you want,” says Elana. “But clarity about your goals and values can guide you in the right direction.”

3. Start Small and Iterate: Break down big decisions into smaller milestones. Early testing and adjustments provide quick feedback without massive risks.

4. Evaluate the Door: Is it a one-way or two-way decision? Elana advises spending more time on irreversible choices while being quicker with reversible ones.

Key Steps

For the Growing Product Leader:

• Build a decision-making framework that prioritises clarity and organisational values.

• Evaluate if your decisions align with your company’s North Star metrics or mission.

• Involve your team in the process to encourage diverse perspectives.

For the Emerging Product Leader:

• Focus on clarity and risk assessment before executing decisions.

• Practice breaking decisions into milestones to test and adapt incrementally.

• Learn to identify whether a decision is reversible to avoid overanalysing.

Mistakes to Avoid

1. Chasing Certainty: Don’t wait for perfect data—it rarely exists. Instead, work with what you have and prioritise clarity.

2. Overlooking Values: A decision that achieves short-term goals but compromises organisational ethics can have long-term repercussions.

3. Skipping the Small Steps: Rushing big decisions without smaller tests can lead to unintended outcomes.

4. Ignoring Team Input: Decisions made in isolation often miss critical perspectives, leading to blind spots.

Conclusion

Leadership isn’t about having all the answers. As Elana says, “You can always change course if you have to, as long as you keep the higher-level principles and values in mind.” Whether you’re deciding how to scale your product or how to respond to a crisis, clarity, caution, and iteration are your best allies.

The next time you face a high-stakes decision, remember: it’s not about being perfect—it’s about being principled, clear, and courageous.

As a product leader, you’re constantly navigating complex stakeholder relationships while building great products. But when it comes to influencing upwards, the stakes are higher. Your ability to align with senior leadership can make or break your initiatives. In this issue, we unpack the “No Surprises” rule with seasoned product leader Nico Posner, who shares practical frameworks and battle-tested advice for managing expectations and fostering trust at the top.

Winning Trust and Keeping It

Influencing upwards isn’t just about presenting great ideas—it’s about building and maintaining trust. According to Nico, “One of the fastest ways to reduce leadership credibility is surprise problems that should have been identified earlier and communicated earlier.” Leadership needs to trust that you’ve got a handle on your domain and that you’ll keep them informed before problems escalate.

The stakes are especially high for product leaders because surprises often have a ripple effect: missed milestones, budget overruns, or shaken confidence in their decision-making.

Progress, Problems, and Plans (PPP) Framework

Nico champions a straightforward yet powerful approach to prevent surprises: the PPP framework. Every week, he updates stakeholders on:

1. Progress: What’s been achieved since the last update?

2. Problems: Key challenges, distinguishing between issues under control (awareness problems) and those requiring help (escalation problems).

3. Plans: Upcoming priorities and next steps.

This consistent communication creates a transparent environment where leadership knows what to expect. Nico explains: “It helps build confidence that even if they don’t have the time to check in with you one-on-one, they can go to your weekly report, spend five minutes, and be up to date on the key points.”

Make PPP Your Default Communication Tool

Using the PPP framework ensures stakeholders are never blindsided by last-minute escalations. It also helps product leaders document progress over time, making performance reviews and team assessments more data-driven. By adopting this habit, you cultivate a reputation for clarity, foresight, and reliability.

Key Steps to Implement the 'No Surprises' Rule

1. Adopt a Weekly Cadence: Send your PPP updates weekly, even if you’re not explicitly asked for them. Leadership values consistency.

2. Be Concise but Comprehensive: Focus on key highlights. Nico notes, “The goal is not to make a laundry list but to summarise the key aspects.”

3. Differentiate Problem Types: Clearly state whether a problem is under control or requires help. This nuance shows you’re on top of things while giving leadership the chance to step in when needed.

4. Roll It Up Across Teams: Have your direct reports use the same framework. This ensures alignment across your entire area of responsibility.

Mistakes to Avoid

1. Skipping the Update: Consistency is key. Sporadic updates can lead to a loss of trust.

2. Drowning in Details: Leadership wants clarity, not every small detail. Distill your points into actionable insights.

3. Ignoring Escalation: Downplaying issues that require help will backfire. Always flag problems before they spiral.

Build Trust, Influence Effectively

For growing product leaders, the “No Surprises” rule is the secret weapon for fostering trust with senior stakeholders and aligning their work with organisational goals. For emerging product leaders, the PPP framework is a pragmatic first step to mastering clear, effective communication with leadership.

Whether you’re navigating tight deadlines, tough decisions, or just trying to get that next big idea funded, remember this: clarity and trust are your greatest tools. As Nico aptly puts it, “Clear communication is really the essence of influencing upwards.”

Now, it’s your turn. Start practising the PPP framework this week, and watch how it transforms your ability to lead and influence.

Over the next few months, expect fresh perspectives from experts like Auriga Martin, Nico Posner, Elana Jacobs, Pratick Bhadra, Sandy Huang, and Michael Scully. We’ll explore the strategies, trends, and challenges shaping the future of product leadership.

Keep your eyes peeled for these upcoming issues:

🚀 Want to Earn Leadership’s Trust? - coming out 5th February

Nothing erodes trust faster than last-minute problems. The best product leaders keep leadership aligned before issues escalate—and in this issue of The Confident Product Leader, we will share a battle-tested ‘No Surprises’ rule for managing up.

🧠 From Crisis to Clarity - coming out 12th February

Product leaders make tough calls daily, often with limited data and massive consequences. In this issue of The Confident Product Leader, we will show how to navigate ambiguity, avoid analysis paralysis, and make sound decisions that balance impact and risk.

⚡ Scaling Leadership Without Burning Out - coming out 19th February

Leadership isn’t about doing more; it’s about doing what energises you. By treating leadership as a portfolio of pursuits, in this issue of The Confident Product Leader, we will reveal how to craft a purpose-driven career.

🔥 Step Up, Take Risks, Lead with Confidence - coming out 26th February

Playing it safe will not get you noticed or make an impact. In this issue of The Confident Product Leader, we will discuss how stepping up, speaking out, and challenging the status quo (respectfully!) can skyrocket your confidence and influence.

🌱 The Secret to Self-Governing Teams? Look to Nature - coming out 5th March

Too much control stifles innovation, and too much autonomy creates chaos. The best product leaders design teams like ecosystems—resilient, self-sustaining, and adaptable. In this article, we will explore a game-changing concept: biomimicry in leadership. We will discover how nature’s most powerful systems—trees, ecosystems, and resilience patterns—can transform how you build and scale self-governing teams.

🚀 Building Teams That Balance Vision and Execution - coming out 12th March

We’ve all seen it: big ideas with failed execution, frustrated teams, and innovation that never materialises. In this issue, we will explore the secret to making visionary leadership work: pairing bold thinkers with pragmatic doers.

Please contact us if you have a topic you want us to cover, or if you would like to nominate a product leader we should interview.

Influence Without Titles

For both emerging and growing product leaders, wielding influence across an organisation is an uphill battle. You lack direct control over most functions, yet your success hinges on aligning diverse teams. How do you steer teams toward a shared vision when they don’t officially report to you? Without authority, how do you secure the trust, buy-in, and cooperation needed to deliver impactful products?

Nico Posner distilled decades of experience into one golden rule: Start building relationships before you need them.

“In order to be most effective, those relationships you build cross-functionally are essential for minimising mistakes and achieving your objectives,” Nico explained. “This isn’t something you can start when you have a specific ask. It needs to be ongoing—from day one.”

Network Strategically and Empathise Deeply

1. Build a Cross-Functional Network: Nico emphasised the importance of "concentric rings of relationships" within an organisation. Focus first on peers who influence your work, then expand to their peers and teams. This network becomes your leverage in moments of challenge.

2. Understand Motivators: Dive into what drives other teams. Nico shared, “Understanding the goals of your stakeholders allows you to align your work with their success.” It’s about connecting the dots between their wins and your objectives.

3. Make It Bidirectional: True influence stems from reciprocity. Show how your efforts help others achieve their goals, and they’ll do the same for you. It’s not about asking for help; it’s about mutual empowerment.

Five Key Steps to Build Influence

1. Start Immediately: As Nico suggested, don’t wait until you need help. Begin relationship-building on your first day in a role.

2. Learn Stakeholders’ Goals: Schedule one-on-one meetings to understand their priorities and challenges.

3. Be a Listener: Prioritise active listening over speaking. Understanding others is the foundation of trust.

4. Communicate Clearly: Share regular updates using frameworks like Nico’s “3Ps”—Progress, Problems, and Plans. Consistency builds confidence.

5. Seek Alignment: Identify mutual objectives. Frame your requests in terms of shared success.

Mistakes to Avoid

• Waiting Too Long: Starting relationships only when you need something risks being perceived as opportunistic.

• One-Way Communication: Avoid focusing solely on your needs without considering how you can add value to others.

• Assuming Authority Equals Influence: Even if you have a title, lasting influence is earned, not granted.

Influence is a Journey

As Nico highlighted, influence without authority is a skill developed over time with intentionality and empathy. By nurturing relationships, understanding motivators, and aligning goals, you don’t just influence; you lead.

For the growing product leader, this means creating leverage through aligned, cross-functional relationships that streamline processes. For the emerging leader, it’s a chance to cultivate a network that will support your future rise to leadership.

Start building your influence today—because tomorrow’s success depends on it.

It’s a new year, a great opportunity to pause to reflect and consider the potential for tomorrow. Last year was pretty tough for a lot of people. In the UK and USA, we suffered the pain of electing new government leaders. The economy was slow. Tech funding was slow. Companies put off projects and delayed buying decisions. There were more layoffs in companies of all sizes. Looking back, it feels like a year of risk reduction - yuck, that is not fun.

Sensational headlines or social media bubbles fed clicks a few times based on the idea that product management was dying. Multiple high-profile tech leaders scrutinized product management. Despite this, the fact remains the same: Tech is invested in solving real-world problems that people will encounter in a transaction to overcome. Someone has to decide which problems to solve and ensure the solution works for the customer! And no, GenAI cannot do this for you.

So, 2025 is here. I expect product management to become more critical in the changing tech scene than ever.

Uncertainty about how to harness GenAI

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella claimed that “SaaS is dead” and referred to business logic moving into the AI layer. Thanks to GenAI, this logic must no longer be tightly coupled to specific data stores and schemas. Through the agents' framework, the logic will become agnostic to the data. What does this mean for the large majority of SaaS products that trade on being a system of record or workflow tool?

GenAI has opened up non-deterministic workflows which could throw out our carefully crafted web forms and user journeys. In this “open world” application style, how do we know if what we are building is solving the real problems? How do we know if version 2 is better than version 1? Will it deliver good results 10% or 90% of the time? How do we differentiate our products, and how will customers trust they are getting value? So much stuff to figure out sits firmly inside the product scope.

OpenAI launched a $200 Pro subscription and has enjoyed a strong uptake. However, it is not making a profit running Pro because users consume too much AI. So, we have a commercial viability question routed deeply across GenAI: Can we profit from it?

As developers increase productivity using AI co-pilots and other technical roles start to figure it out, we have to ask what the ideal product manager co-pilot is. How can we embrace this technology to understand our customers better and make better decisions? Just asking an openAI ChatGPT what your customers want will not find the value proposition that will differentiate you from your competitor.

I can speculate what might happen, but the real fun in 2025 will be working all this stuff out!

Ethical Product Development

I suspect that AI ethics will become a much bigger topic as we progress through our AI journey. Concerns and a focus on data privacy are already on the rise, but as consumers recognise that AI is using their data more, we will have new problems to navigate. I am not talking just about copyright; I am talking about using data to make decisions that impact people. The governing laws are forming around this topic, but we have not yet seen them tested.

A straightforward example of AI not working as intended 100% of the time embarrasses the BBC and Apple. Over Christmas, Apple Intelligence summarised news articles, accidentally crafting a headline announcing the death of an individual, which was entirely false. For more information, read this BBC article. 

Sustainability will continue to be a concern impacting product decisions. AI's carbon footprint is significant. If product feature differentiation reduces, perhaps new differentiations will revolve around green credentials.

Emergence of specialised PM roles

Towards the end of 2024, the concept of an AI product manager became more popular. This is a technical product manager with a deep understanding of AI, and this role is commanding higher salaries. I suspect we will see more specialism within the product roles, coupling product more closely to the technology. Personally, I think it is a mistake if we blend architects and product managers together - we will only end up with a compromise and sub-optimal decisions. However, while the AI playbook is unclear, referring to the earlier challenges, this blended role will be needed to figure things out.

Increased focus on resilience

There will be fear as technology changes, such as GenAI, ripple through the markets and impact organisational design and product categories. Investment in product development that delivers a return must consider resilience to market, technological, and operational disruptions.

Enhance the use of analytics

With the new GenAI-powered analytical tools, we should see increased data decisions in both qualitative and quantitative data. I hope we can enjoy behavioural segmentation and real-time analytics so businesses can make more decisive decisions. GenAI can help make data accessible to everyone in the organisation.

2025 Tour

Before signing off, I want to share some news. I will tour UK Product Tank meetups starting January 15th in Exeter (UK). I will be doing a talk on the revolution of GenAI, giving away some books and recording some interviews for this newsletter.

I hope to see you in one of the following cities on the tour: Exeter, Bristol, Newcastle, Birmingham, Cardiff, Reading, London, Brighton, or Manchester.

Mentorship for the Win

Nathan’s journey into leadership is a testament to the power of mentorship. Starting as a self-taught engineer, he found himself not only learning technical skills but also embracing product-centric thinking early on. Nathan recalls, "I had a lot of really great mentors along the way, people who were willing to invest in me from very early in my career to today" These mentors helped him navigate the complexities of building consumer products and transitioning from an individual contributor to a leader.

Mentorship played a pivotal role in Nathan’s transition into management. He shares, "I had a really great mentor—he was my manager—who said, 'This is something that I think you would be good at, and with the right investment and coaching, you could excel.'" This encouragement helped Nathan move from leading projects as an individual contributor to leading teams and confidently leaping into management.

Nathan's support didn’t just teach him technical skills; it shaped his leadership philosophy. Mentors helped him understand that leadership is about empathy, about putting oneself in the shoes of the customer, the team, and other stakeholders. Nathan’s experience underscores the value of having someone who can guide, challenge, and inspire. The power is knowing someone sees your potential and challenges you to grow.

Becoming a Mentor

Mentorship isn’t just about receiving guidance; it’s also about giving back. As Nathan advanced in his career, he began to mentor others. He built his teams with the same ethos that guided his development: a willingness to entertain questions, encourage growth, and provide the space for others to learn.

Nathan emphasises the importance of empathy when mentoring others. "If you're going to build products for people, you have to think like them, empathise with them, and embrace consumer-centric product thinking." The same applies to mentoring—understanding where someone is coming from and what they need in their journey is essential. Becoming a mentor is about sharing experiences, providing guidance, and helping others see their potential.

Effective mentorship can also be transformational for the mentor. By mentoring others, leaders often refine their understanding and develop a more profound sense of purpose. The process helps mentors articulate their own experiences and insights, turning them into lessons that others can learn from. It’s an opportunity for growth on both sides—the mentor learns just as much as the mentee.

Removing the Ego

One of the biggest challenges for mentors is removing the ego from the equation. Effective mentorship is not about giving direct instructions or telling someone what to do but guiding them to find their own solutions while sharing advice to accelerate their progress or make their journey safer. Nathan learned early on that the best mentors don’t give orders—they ask questions, listen, and help others reach their conclusions.

Here are a few key tips for being a great mentor without letting ego get in the way:

1. Ask, Don’t Tell: Instead of giving direct answers, ask questions that lead the mentee to think critically. Questions like, "What do you think are the possible approaches to this problem?" or "How would you handle this situation?" empower mentees to develop their problem-solving skills.

2. Listen Actively: Being a mentor is about understanding the mentee's needs. Active listening helps build trust and ensures that your guidance is relevant and supportive rather than prescriptive.

3. Be Vulnerable: Share your own mistakes and what you learned from them. Vulnerability creates a safe space for the mentee to share their challenges openly, knowing that you’ve faced similar struggles.

4. Celebrate the small victories: Help your mentees see their progress and micro-wins. It often takes an outsider to point out, “You did that really well.”

5. Avoid Taking Credit: Celebrate your mentees' successes without claiming ownership. Mentorship is about their growth, and recognising their achievements helps build their confidence and independence.

Mentorship is about unlocking potential—both in others and yourself. For leaders like Nathan, it’s not just a tool for developing others but also a way to grow personally, shape culture, and leave a lasting impact.

As we head into 2025, AI’s integration into product teams is as much about mindset as technology. Product leaders must balance envisioning a bold future and taking practical steps to get there.

Amira Youssef, a seasoned product leader whose career has spanned big tech giants like Microsoft and an AI-driven startup, believes the answer lies in accessibility, experimentation, and continuous upskilling. In this article, we’ll explore how you can harness AI to future-proof your team while addressing fears of irrelevance and complexity.

Embracing AI for Team Empowerment

Imagine a team where everyone, not just engineers, understands how to use AI to supercharge productivity. Marketing creates campaigns at scale. Designers iterate faster with AI tools. Product managers analyse data and test hypotheses in record time.

This isn’t about replacing human ingenuity; it’s about augmenting it. Amira explains, “AI is here to stay because it saves time and allows humans to focus on what they do best. The question is, how do we bring everyone along on this journey?”

By introducing AI as a tool for augmentation, not replacement, leaders can help their teams focus on creativity, strategy, and innovation rather than repetitive tasks. “One of the most exciting things about AI,” Amira adds, “is its accessibility. It’s not locked away for elite users anymore. Anyone can start experimenting today, even with free tools.”

A team that feels more capable, confident, and future-ready will likely embrace AI’s potential. Amira emphasises, “When teams see the value AI brings to their day-to-day, they stop fearing it and start seeing it as an ally.”

AI’s Transformative Role in Product Management

AI isn’t just changing workflows—it’s redefining the product manager’s role. AI tools can now be augmented by tasks once seen as central to product management, like analysing customer feedback, prioritising features, or conducting user research. This shift allows PMs to focus on creativity, critical thinking, and entrepreneurship.

Leaders who embrace AI now are not just future-proofing their teams but positioning them to thrive in an increasingly AI-driven world.

What Good Looks Like

A well-prepared team doesn't view AI as a threat but as a tool. They’ve experimented with AI tools, understand their potential, and feel confident integrating them into their workflows. Good isn’t perfection; it’s curiosity, a willingness to experiment, and gradual adoption.

Amira highlights, “Good starts small. It’s not about overhauling your entire workflow overnight. It’s about identifying one or two areas where AI can make a tangible difference and building confidence from there.”

She also stresses the importance of communication. “Leaders must help their teams understand the ‘why’ behind AI adoption. Show them how these tools can make their lives easier and their work more impactful.”

This vision is entirely achievable without complex overhauls. Start small, pick a tool relevant to your team’s needs, and focus on one or two measurable improvements. “When you see your team move from scepticism to curiosity and then enthusiasm, that’s what good looks like,” Amira says. “It’s about planting the seeds of a new way of working and nurturing them over time.”

Building Accessibility and Scale with AI

Amira is a founding member of an AI SaaS startup, SocialPost, a social media management platform leveraging Generative AI to scale content creation and scheduling for startups and SMBs. SocialPost addresses a critical gap by making AI accessible to businesses that can’t afford dedicated marketing teams or agencies. Amira emphasises that the real challenge lies not in the technology itself but in ensuring users can adopt it seamlessly.

Amira shares how she applied these principles internally within a bootstrap startup, where resources and budgets were limited. By leveraging AI, the team reduced development time by 70% and delivered the MVP in just 10 months. This was achieved by integrating OpenAI and Stable Diffusion APIs, harnessing advanced capabilities without the need for extensive in-house development, significantly cutting costs and accelerating time-to-market.

Steps to Get Started

1. Assess Needs: Identify repetitive tasks or areas where AI could add immediate value. Start small, automating meeting notes or analysing customer feedback.

2. Experiment and Learn: Introduce free or low-cost AI tools. Host "AI experiment days" where team members can explore these tools together.

3. Upskill Gradually: Provide resources like online courses, tutorials, or workshops. Keep it simple. 30-minute learning sessions can go a long way.

4. Set Clear Goals: Tie AI adoption to specific, measurable outcomes. For example, it could reduce time spent on manual tasks by 20% or improve project turnaround times.

5. Celebrate Wins: Highlight successes to build momentum and confidence.

Mistakes to Avoid

1. Rushing the Process: Don’t expect immediate buy-in or results. Start small and allow the team to grow comfortable.

2. Overcomplicating Tools: Stick to user-friendly AI solutions that require minimal training.

3. Ignoring Individual Needs: Not everyone will adopt AI at the same pace. Customise support and expectations accordingly.

4. Neglecting Communication: Discuss how AI tools improve workflows to keep everyone aligned and motivated.

Conclusion

AI doesn’t have to be daunting or disruptive. With the right mindset and approach, product leaders can make AI a natural extension of their team’s skill set. By focusing on accessibility and incremental upskilling, you can future-proof your team and create a culture of innovation.

As Amira Youssef says, “AI isn’t about replacing, it’s about augmenting. Start small, experiment, and empower your team to grow with the technology. The journey might start with curiosity, but it ends with transformation.” Take that first step today and watch your team thrive in the AI-driven future.

During his time at a startup called Vontu, which Symantec later acquired, Chris discovered his passion for leadership. At Vontu, he learned the craft of product management and saw firsthand what great leadership looked like. This pivotal moment reshaped his approach to leading teams and laid the foundation for his philosophy of empowering others to succeed.

Empowering, Not Hands-Off

The concept of empowered teams has become a buzzword in product management circles. Many leaders believe empowerment means giving their teams complete autonomy and stepping back. However, Chris emphasises that true empowerment doesn’t mean leaders should disappear—it’s about finding the right balance between providing support and letting your team take ownership.

“A good leader needs to be setting the context that the teams are working in,” Chris explains. This means that while teams should be free to solve problems creatively, they still need clear direction. Leaders must communicate the product vision, strategy, and business goals, ensuring their teams understand the broader context they’re operating within.

When coaching product leaders, I often explore whether they are setting clear objectives, which leaves space for their teams to adapt and make decisions as they gather insights. If the direction is overly narrow, teams are being dictated solutions instead of being trusted to find better solutions themselves. 

True empowerment doesn’t mean abdicating responsibility. Leaders need to guide their teams through the complexities of product development by creating an environment where they can thrive. This includes setting expectations, providing resources, and removing roadblocks while stepping back enough to let the team own their outcomes.

The Leadership Shift To Coaching

One of Chris's most significant turning points was realising that leadership is less about directing and more about coaching. Early at Vontu, he learned that his role was not just about executing tasks but also helping his team succeed.

“You’re going to be spending 50 to 80 per cent of your time just coaching your team,” Chris recalls being told by his manager. This advice changed how he viewed his job. As he evolved into a leader, his focus shifted from delivering results himself to enabling his team members to shine.

Chris emphasises two critical aspects of coaching that all leaders should embrace when onboarding new product managers. First, ensure your team members are the true experts in their areas of responsibility. "They should know more about their part of the product than you do," he says. Second, set them up for a public win early on, especially new hires. Allowing them to succeed publicly boosts their confidence and strengthens the team’s trust in their abilities.

Coaching isn’t just about giving feedback or solving problems—it’s about developing the people on your team. It’s creating space for them to learn, grow, and eventually lead initiatives independently.

Actionable Advice for Leading Empowered Teams

Chris’s journey offers several actionable insights for leaders of empowered teams:

1. Set clear outcomes: Don’t just assign tasks. Focus on outcomes and make sure your team understands the bigger picture. Empower them to find solutions, but guide them with clear goals and strategic context.

2. Create space for team ownership: Allow your team members to take full responsibility for specific product parts. Give them the freedom to make decisions and succeed while also providing the support they need.

3. Invest in coaching: Spend most of your time helping your team grow. Prioritise your team members' development, whether through one-on-ones, feedback sessions, or mentoring. This will benefit them and drive better results for the organisation.

4. Balance empowerment with guidance: Stay involved by setting clear guardrails, such as product strategy and vision. Ensure your team is aligned with the company’s broader goals.

5. Celebrate public wins: Encourage and celebrate successes. Public recognition builds morale and motivates the team to push for great outcomes.

Are You a Leader or Manager?

Chris Jones’s experience underscores the difference between managing and leading a team. Leadership is about enabling others to succeed, guiding them toward outcomes, and creating an environment where they feel empowered to take ownership of their work. 

So, ask yourself: Are you leading or just managing? Are you spending your time coaching and developing your team, or are you stuck in the day-to-day execution? True leaders empower others, guide them with purpose, and watch them thrive. Don’t be a cog in the machine of execution. 

Danny’s advice is grounded in real-world experience. He shares three key ingredients to accelerate your journey and performance as a product leader: respect instead of love, reflective decision-making, and an open support network. 

The Balance Between Leadership and Management

One of the key takeaways from my conversation with Danny was his clear distinction between leadership and management. In product roles, we often conflate the two, assuming that managing a team equates to leading it. However, as Danny explained, the two are fundamentally different but equally important.

“Leadership sets the direction and inspires people, while management helps get us there,” he said. This distinction is crucial for those moving from a manager of product people to leading a product. As a manager, your primary role might be to help your team execute their tasks and objectives. But as a leader, your responsibility expands beyond that—you need to set a clear vision, motivate your team, and inspire them to go beyond simply meeting their goals. As a senior product leader, you are often not restricted to positively influencing the staff you have hierarchical responsibility for but also leading how sales, marketing and technical teams think and feel about the product. 

For Danny, the leadership transition happened during his time at Volkswagen Group, where he was tasked with building a new product development function from scratch. “I had to figure out what we should pursue and why and then rally a team around that vision,” he shared. This meant setting the strategy and hiring and inspiring a 15-person team to execute it. The lesson here for product leaders is that leadership is about painting a bigger picture that your teams can buy into, while management is about helping them reach the finish line.

Being respected vs being loved

Danny shared powerful advice about the importance of leaders seeking respect rather than love. As a leader, you’ll naturally want your team to enjoy working with you. But trying too hard to be loved can make you less effective and hold team members back.

“My personality is that I’m a people person. I like making people happy,” Danny shared, which shows strong self-awareness. “But I found that I wasn’t driving hard enough because I wanted people to love me. People can still like you, but respecting you is more important.”

This was a valuable lesson for him early in his leadership career. As product leaders, it’s easy to fall into the trap of wanting to be everyone’s favourite boss. But Danny highlights the balance you need to strike. Your team doesn’t have to love you to deliver their best work—they need to respect you and trust that you are guiding them in the right direction. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be empathetic or caring; your decisions and actions should align with the business's goals, even if they’re not always popular.

Decision-Making Under Pressure

One of the most challenging aspects of product leadership is decision-making, especially when time is of the essence. Danny emphasised that understanding how your own mind works is essential in improving your decision-making skills. Some leaders are quick on their feet and can make snap decisions, while others need time to process information and consider the best course of action.

“I know that I’m a processor,” Danny explained. “I like talking through things, debating them, and digesting information before I make a decision.”

For him, it’s not about rushing to make the call but about taking a moment, or even a day, to reflect before committing to a path. A common challenge I regularly see when coaching product leaders is a desire to be overly reactive and move fast. If the decision matters, then pausing for reflection will not create any meaningful delay but will dramatically improve the decisions and following communication. This self-awareness has helped Danny improve his decision-making over the years, I encourage everyone to look inwards and better understand themselves to perform more effectively. 

Danny also shared some of the critical questions he uses to guide his decisions: 

• What value will this decision create for customers and for the business?
  This question helps ensure that every decision is focused on delivering tangible value. Whether it's a product decision or a strategic move, this question forces a focus on the end goal—creating positive outcomes for both customers and the business.

• Is this the most valuable thing we could be working on right now?
  This question is about prioritisation. It challenges you and your teams to consider whether the task or decision at hand is truly the highest-impact activity, helping you avoid getting sidetracked by less important initiatives.

• What needs to be true for this scenario to come about?
  This is one of Danny’s favourite questions. He uses it to free people from their current context and think beyond their current state of affairs. It pushes people to figure out what would be necessary to achieve something more significant and determine if there is a way to make it happen. Understanding what factors or assumptions are critical to achieving the desired outcome helps break down complex problems and evaluate the associated risk.

• What would the CEO ask me about this decision?
  As Danny describes it, “putting myself in the CEO's shoes” ensures he's thinking heuristically company-wide and considering the decision's broader implications. It helps broaden his perspective and forces him to consider the big picture.

• What does the data say?
  It should be a fundamental part of everyone’s decision-making process. Asking for the data ensures that decisions are grounded in facts.

As leaders, especially in the fast-paced world of product development, it’s tempting to make decisions quickly to keep things moving. But Danny’s advice reminds us that it’s okay to take a breath, step back, and ensure that the decision we’re making is truly the right one for the long term. But don’t step back for too long! 

Building a support network beyond your company

Danny’s third piece of advice might surprise you. He emphasised the importance of building a network outside of your company—a network of peers who can provide impartial advice and support. While internal relationships are crucial, external connections can offer a fresh perspective free from the internal politics and agendas that exist within every organisation.

“More recently, in the last few years, I’ve gotten a lot of value out of having a network of senior product leaders,” Danny said. “It’s less about them helping you find a new job and more about having people you can trust and bounce ideas off.”

This advice is particularly relevant for senior product leaders who might be facing complex challenges that require outside perspective. Whether it’s navigating difficult conversations with stakeholders, handling team dynamics, or making strategic decisions, having a network of trusted peers can be invaluable.

If you find networking difficult or perhaps just don’t have time for it, I suggest you check out a service called Sidebar, which does all this for you. Danny is a member of Sidebar and recommends it.

A Thought to Ponder

Danny’s journey and insights offer a wealth of knowledge for emerging and growing product leaders. Whether you’re stepping into a leadership role for the first time or have been managing product teams for years, his advice reminds you of the complexities of leadership. It’s about balancing being liked and respected, making thoughtful decisions under pressure, and building a network that supports your performance.

As you reflect on these lessons, consider Danny's challenge: Are you asking for help when needed, or are you trying to carry the weight of leadership alone?

No one has all the answers in leadership. Building a support system and knowing when to seek advice can be the difference between success and burnout. So, are you making the most of the resources around you to become the best leader you can be?

Nathan highlights writing as a foundational, must-have skill for leaders, explaining, "The number one thing that I would recommend for any leader is writing—hands down. Get good at writing, just because it's going to help in so many aspects." Writing is not just about communication; it’s about clarity of thought. Nathan elaborates, "If you can learn how to write, it's just such a base communication skill. If you can learn how to linearize your thoughts and improve your written communication, it's going to help you as a leader because it's going to help you express your thoughts and get your point across to other people."

Writing helps leaders clarify their thinking. When leaders take the time to write, they are forced to organise their thoughts in a logical sequence, which often brings deeper understanding and reveals gaps in reasoning. Refining complex or abstract ideas into clear, simple messages is vital for effective leadership. Nathan emphasises, "Writing helps me get all the thoughts out of my head and onto paper. As leaders, our entire job is talking—we go from meeting to meeting, giving advice, giving coaching, and all of this stuff is ephemeral. Writing allows us to distil this down into a form that can be shared and preserved." By writing, leaders create a tangible record of their leadership philosophy, which can be shared with others and refined over time.

Moreover, leaders must often communicate complex or abstract ideas to diverse audiences, from their teams to stakeholders across the organisation. The ability to break down these ideas into clear, simple messages is crucial to ensure alignment and understanding. Writing is the tool that enables leaders to do this effectively. As Nathan points out, "Our ability to distil our thoughts into written form helps not just in expressing ideas, but also in creating alignment across the organisation." When leaders can clearly articulate their vision and strategy in writing, they help their teams understand and rally behind those ideas, making executing shared goals easier.

Nathan offers practical advice for those who need help figuring out where to start. "If you say things in your coaching conversations more than once, write it down. If you've said it more than once, it means more than one person is finding value in it." This approach helps leaders capture their insights and transform them into guiding principles that benefit others.

Here are some tips for clarifying your thinking through writing:

1. Start with a Brain Dump: Write down everything you know or think about the topic without worrying about structure. This helps clear your mind and get all ideas on paper, making it easier to see connections and gaps.

2. Organise Your Thoughts: Once everything is down, organise your ideas into logical groups. Look for patterns, themes, and relationships between ideas. This will help you create a coherent structure.

3. Simplify Complex Ideas: Challenge yourself to explain complex concepts in the simplest terms possible. Pretend you are explaining it to someone unfamiliar with the topic. This exercise forces you to distil your thoughts and clarify your understanding.

4. Use Outlines: Creating an outline helps you structure your thoughts before diving into full sentences and paragraphs. It provides a roadmap that ensures your writing is logical and comprehensive.

5. Iterate and Edit: Writing is rewriting. Go through multiple drafts to refine your message. Each iteration helps you clarify your thoughts further, ensuring your final version is clear and impactful.

6. Seek Feedback: Share your writing with a trusted colleague or mentor. They can help identify areas that are still unclear and offer suggestions for improvement.

Starting with the customer

Consider Jeff Bezos' famous directive at Amazon regarding customer obsession. Instead of saying something abstract like, "We need to care about our customers," Bezos made it clear: "We will start with the customer and work backwards." This simple yet powerful statement shaped Amazon's culture and decision-making, ensuring customer needs were at the forefront of every product and service they developed.

Amazon embraces starting with the customer and working backwards with the press release approach. Product managers are encouraged to write down and collaborate on a press release for the launch they are going to be working towards at the very start of the initiative. 

Influencing with the written word

For VPs of Product and other product leaders, Nathan’s advice underscores the importance of writing to scale their influence. Writing is a tool for influence that extends beyond direct conversations and helps leaders shape culture and strategy. "Our ability to distil our thoughts into written form helps not just in expressing ideas, but also in creating alignment across the organisation," Nathan notes.

Nathan's emphasis on writing as a leadership tool serves as a reminder that influence starts with clarity. Writing helps leaders refine their ideas, communicate effectively, and leave a lasting impact. For aspiring leaders, developing the habit of writing is not just about improving communication. It’s about becoming a better leader by articulating and sharing a vision that others can support.