Product Management vs Project Management. Is there a difference?

In this episode of The Leadership Exchange, host Rob Ocel, VP of Innovation at This Dot Labs, sits down with Jason Williams, Chief Product and Technology Officer at HealthJoy, to explore what makes a great product leader. They discuss the critical difference between product management and project management, the importance of balancing innovation with sustainability, and why too many companies reward launching new features over refining existing ones. Jason shares insights on how strong leadership can provide teams with both autonomy and direction, ensuring motivation isn’t just about big visions but also about clear signposts along the way.

Key Points from this Episode:

1. Product Leadership vs. Project Management – Great product managers focus on solving real problems and measuring impact, not just delivering features. Too often, companies reward execution over outcomes, leading to a culture of launching and abandoning features without learning from them.

2. Motivation Comes from Ownership, Not Just Vision – Tech professionals want to be builders, not order takers. Motivation isn't just about the big-picture vision; it's about providing clear domains of ownership and signposts along the way so teams feel empowered to make decisions.

3. Feature Bloat and Learning from Experiments – Experimentation is essential, but companies often fail to eliminate what doesn't work, leading to bloated, unfocused products. Good product teams prioritize learning—both before and after releases—to refine and improve rather than just add more.

4. The Power of Stories in Leadership – Leaders should connect teams to the real impact of their work, whether through direct user interactions or storytelling. Seeing how a product affects one person can be more motivating than hearing about its success at scale.

Connect with Jason Williams on Social Media

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jwilliams2004/ 

Sponsored by This Dot Labs: thisdot.co