Starting as a product leader

Also see Starting as a new leader for more general tips.

How to use this document

There are 5 areas you need to focus on during your first 90 days:

• The Team - The people who report in to you (directly or indirectly through a matrix org)
• The Organization - Understanding how the organization wors (at a system/process level)
• The Product - As the product leader,  you need to be an expert in the product including it’s capabilities, the value it provides, and the metrics implemented
• The Market, Customers, and Users - Focus more on the customers and users than the market, but you need to start building foundational knowledge to guide the Product Strategy.
• Your Role - You need to clearly define your role for the organization, and understand the expectations of your boss and peers.

While you need to focus on learning and understanding, you should jump in and start to show some early wins. The entire organization needs to see what you are capable of. You shouldn’t make large systematic changes, but don’t hesitate to jump into a project or make small tweaks to the process.

If something is seriously wrong, jump right in and make changes based on what you observe and past experiences. You were brought in to make the organization better, so don’t hold back resolving major issues.

Tips

• Ask questions, don't make statements. Avoid having "the" answer.
• Don’t tell people they are doing something wrong. Instead, ask why they do things a certain way and be curious about the answer.
• When interacting with your team, ask “Can you teach me how to do this?” not “Can you do this?”
• You’re going to hear a lot of ideas or people asking for things. Read How to respond to feedback and Product Feedback. It's important to make it clear where their idea or ask falls on your priority list (probably low on the list)
• Say less than necessary.
• Don't believe you will be successful in your new role by doing the same things.
• When you find something that is really not working, focus on fixing it
• Send out weekly updates of what you have learned or are thinking about.

The Team

Outcome: Build trust with the people you will be working with and guiding.

• Be a quiet observer in every team meeting you can attend
• Shadow your team to understand their process, strengths, and weaknesses
• If the preference is unknown, provide positive reinforcement publicly, and constructive feedback privately.
• Talk to your team about how they like to receive positive and constructive feedback.
• What is your team focused on? What are their responsibilities?
• Learn the Hiring plans for the year and where you can provide some guidance
• Start to write a plan on team growth for the next year, identifying the critical roles that need to be filled.
• Talk to your team about their professional growth and how they want to grow
• Discover what the current definition of product management, design, and other roles are within the organization
• What other teams or people are indirectly reporting into product?
• Your team may not feel confident asking you for help, they don't want to set a "bad" impression. Some solutions:
  • By asking for help, you lead the way
  • Provide a positive feedback loop when people do ask for help

Outputs

• 1:1 documents for everyone on your team (including skip-levels)
• Hiring plan for the next 12 months
• Written understanding of what your team is responsible for, as well as plans on what you want to change
• Summary of the current in-flight projects and people allocations
• Document outlining the current team processes

At the end of 90 Days…

• You have built trust with your entire team
• You have demonstrated your willingness to jump in and help
• You have communicated to your team how you want to be involved in decisions

The Organization

Outcome: You understand the organizational system and the individuals that make it up. As an organizational leader, you are responsible for the success of the organization just as much as the product.

• Meet with everyone 1:1. Use this time to discover:
  • Who they are, their role but also other elements like what motivates them
  • How they fit into the org (not in the hierarchy but the system)
  • Three things they feel are going well and three that are not going well/need fixing
  • How they work with product, customers, and users
• What is the internal lingo?
• What are the organization Policies?
• What are the Processes?
• How does the organization Make decisions?
• What tools are used?
• Who are the influencers within the company? Who do people go to for advice?
• Spend significant time with your peers to understand their process, challenges, and the organization

The Product

Outcome: As the product leader within the organization you should be on the way to being an expert in the product, the value it provides, and how it is being used.

• If you are technically inclined, get access to the source code and set up a development environment on your machine.
• Review all the dashboards, metrics, and KPIs. Understand why they have been chosen and what the benchmark is
• Listen in or observe customer support calls.
• How are product decisions made?
• What is the current product roadmap? How has it been defined and prioritized?
• When was the last time the roadmap was communicated to the organization?
• Is there a design system? What is the process around it?

The Market, Customers, & Users

Outcome: Build up knowledge of your customers, the alternative solutions (think JBTD not competitors), and the end users of the product.

• Spend time with the sales team:
  • Listen in on calls
  • Review the sales pitch
  • Look at recently won and lost deals
• Review all the alternative solutions, use various frameworks to understand them (metrics, market, SWOT, etc)
• Who are the influencers in the space? What are our customers reading?
• What are the innovations happening in the space?
• Who are our partners that complement our solution?
• Set up Product User Roundtable sessions to help you and your team learn about your users and customers.

Your Role

Outcome: Alignment on the expectations of your role and what you are responsible and accountable for.

• Work with your boss on written expectations for your role