A startup hires a senior product leader. Six to twelve months later, that person is gone. The internal narrative is some version of "it didn't work out". Maybe they weren’t experienced enough, maybe they weren't a culture fit, maybe they just couldn't hack it at this stage. The company goes back to market, finds someone new, and the cycle repeats. Everyone treats each failure as an isolated hiring mistake rather than a symptom of something structural.

I want to talk about what's actually happening here, because I don't think most companies are honest with themselves about it. The problem usually isn't the person. The problem is that the company has created conditions where no one could succeed, and then blames the individual when they don't.

When was the last time someone on your team told you that you were wrong about something important, and you changed your mind? If you can't remember, that's not because you're always right. It's because the magnetic field around you has gotten so strong that every compass in the building is pointing at you instead of at reality.

The key difference is that teaching scales, while doing does not. If your approach to leadership is just an extension of your approach to product management, if you are still in the details and still making sure every major decision is right, you are not actually leading. You are just a really senior PM.

As product leaders, we are in a unique market that has shifted drastically in the past two years leading to a difficult job market for product leaders. We've gathered product leaders who have successfully navigated this tough market recently to share their practical insights. Join your fellow senior product leaders as our newly appointed Chief Product Officers and Vice Presidents of Product share their journey through job searching, negotiating offers, and settling into their new roles. Gain practical insights and strategies to excel in the competitive 2024 PM job market.

Creating impactful user-facing products demands robust collaboration across product management, design, and UX research teams. However, the structure of these teams often introduces processes and power dynamics that hinder such collaboration. In this webinar, I aim to give product managers, designers, and UX researchers involved in user-facing projects insights and practical tools to foster a more collaborative, innovative, and productive team environment.

In "Articulating Design Decisions," Tom Greever emphasizes the often-overlooked need for product designers to have empathy towards stakeholders. Discover why understanding the deeper emotions and motivations of stakeholders is similarly crucial for Product Managers. Learn how building authentic, empathetic relationships with stakeholders can lead to superior product development and a more cohesive work environment.