The Importance of Curiosity and Empathy as a Product Leader

In this episode of the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, marketing professor Jeff Shulman and The Product Management Center advisory board member Red Russak welcome Jerlisa "Juju" Fontaine (Oscar Health), Anne Julliene (Joan) Barcelona (Box), and Dimple Singhania (Walmart) to talk about what happens during the first few days as a PM. Transitioning into the role needs a lot of work on building connections with your team and other teams within the organization, continuous learning from your superior through shadowing, and making use of the soft skills you bring into the system to function seamlessly and adapt efficiently.  

Support for How to Succeed in Product Management is brought to you by Apptentive, which enables product managers to measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across the mobile customer journey. To learn more, go to Apptentive.com/UW.

What to Listen For:

• 00:00 Intro
• 10:14 What helped in transitioning to product management?
• 16:18 What helped the transition successful in the first few days?
• 24:22 Learn as much as you can from the people you shadow
• 36:26 How did you define success for your first month?
• 37:34 What did you wish you knew before you started your role?
• 45:48 What are the most necessary skills as a product person?
• 54:01 Concluding thoughts