Diana Stepner

Leadership is a verb, not a noun. Anyone can be a leader. The key is to be a leader who people respect and want to work with - to show up for and deliver. You can tell people what to do, and you will get about 40 to 60% of their commitment and potential contributions. Empower people, root for them, help them grow, listen to them - truly listen, be empathetic (human, not a robot) and you could increase the percentage to 80%. Remember to treat people as you would want to be treated.

I often apply horizon thinking to inform risk assessment as every change, every new feature has some element of risk. The question is how much risk do you want to take on. As noted before the Eisenhower Matrix is good framework, e.g. is the risk worth the reward. With horizon thinking, you consider the product portfolio. I aim for 70% of your work should be focused on maintaining / enhancing business as usual (those features customers buy your product to access), 20% should be on what is "next" - known as the adjacent opportunities, and 10% should be future facing (and risky). The time investment is exploratory to gain insight and manage the risk until a time when the future is today.... which often happens more quickly than we expectd.

We often refer to the Product Trio as being Design, Engineering and Product. Today, given the rise of AI, you'll often see a data scientist in the mix too. I also am an advocate for including Marketing / Product Marketing in the early stages too. Who covers messaging could fall under Marketing or Product Marketing, thus the "/". Regardless by understanding the original problem or Job to Be Done, there is a higher likelihood that the messaging will align - and remain aligned - with the Product's capabilities and customer goals. You want to move fast. You can involve Marketing / Product Marketing early on, so you don't have to slow down later in the product lifecycle.

There are three frameworks I recommend. All three include the guidance to be specific. SBI feedback model * situation - describe the situation * behavior - current approach, desired approach * impact of behavior - current outcome, desired outcome SSBIR * Set the stage (S) - prepare for the discussion * State the situation (S) - explain the purpose of the discussion * Describe the Behavior (B) - what was the behavior, what was its outcome * Clarify the Impact (I) - explain the desired the outcome * Chart the Resolution (R) - put in motion actions which will result in the desired outcome The third is our friend SMART * Specific - what * Measurable - how much * Achievable - how * Relevant - why * Time-Bound - when

I would put this step at or closer to #1. Product Management is a team sport. Throughout the product development process, Product should be working alongside Customer Success, Design, Engineering, and Marketing. Thus the conversation with senior leadership will be between all stakeholders, not just Product. If senior leadership does not agree or support all stakeholders then there is a cultural disconnect. If Product is the only group that believes a different timeline is appropriate, Product should first seek to align with stakeholders. If that is not possible, it may imply that Product's case is not sufficiently justified.

The focus on establishing a safe space is key - and doing so in a way that is equally open to in person and remote employees. Invite employees to put forward questions anonymously ahead of time (with adding their name being optional). Use this insight to frame up Q&As which will be published and referenced. Use the insight to frame up and ensure no further misconceptions arise. As a follow up, office hours can be used as well to have an open forum where employees can join optionally and place additional questions. Then continue to restate - restate - restate the strategy. People need to hear something at least 7 times for it to truly sink in. You want people to be able to recite the strategy without prompting.