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Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career
Leveraging mentors to uplevel your career | Jules Walter (YouTube, Slack)
Jan 5, 2023
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01:10:27
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Quick takeaways
- Actively seek feedback for skill improvement in communication, strategy execution, and product sense.
- Learn from mentors to enhance strategy development, communication, and leadership skills.
- Embrace an iterative learning approach in communication, strategy formation, and management for continuous growth.
Deep dives
Importance of Seeking Feedback for Improvement
Seeking feedback, whether from mentors or through self-reflection, plays a crucial role in personal growth. The podcast episode highlights how actively asking for feedback can lead to significant improvements in various skills. It emphasizes the value of feedback in areas like communication, strategy execution, and product sense, showcasing a proactive approach to continuous improvement.
Learning from Mentors and Observing Expert Practices
The episode underscores the importance of learning from mentors and observing expert practices to enhance skills such as strategy development, communication, and leadership. By leveraging the insights and experiences of seasoned professionals, individuals can gain valuable strategies, methodologies, and best practices that contribute to their professional development.
Iterative Learning through Observations and Feedback
A key takeaway from the podcast is the iterative nature of learning, especially in areas like communication, strategy formation, and management. By observing the iterative processes behind product development, executive updates, and strategic decision-making, individuals can enhance their understanding of effective communication, decision-making, and leadership skills. This iterative approach, coupled with feedback and self-reflection, fosters continuous growth and improvement.
Importance of Focusing on Developing Skills
It is crucial to acknowledge the time and effort required to develop skills, treating it like building muscles that need consistent practice. The key lies in dedicating focused time to learning and practicing a specific skill over a defined period, rather than sporadically acquiring knowledge without consistent application. By immersing oneself in deliberate practice and setting structured goals, individuals can make tangible progress and gradually strengthen their abilities.
Effective Mentorship and Relationship Building Strategies
Establishing meaningful mentor relationships involves seeking individuals who excel in specific areas and can effectively explain concepts. The process of finding mentors can occur in various settings, from events to cold outreach, focusing on making specific, actionable requests that demonstrate impact. Sustaining mentor connections entails active listening, note-taking, and offering reciprocal support, contributing to the cultivation of genuine relationships built on trust and continuous learning.
1.
Introduction
4min
2.
How Did You Get Your First Product Launch?
2min
3.
How Did You Become the First Growth PM at Slack?
2min
4.
Slack Growth - What's the Most Experiencing Moment?
2min
5.
BlackPM's - A Startup Story
2min
6.
The Most Important Skills to Develop as a PM
3min
7.
How to Get Better at Interviewing Skills?
2min
8.
Interviewing at a Big Company?
2min
9.
Do You Have Any Favorite Resources for Interviewing?
2min
10.
EQ as a PM - Is That What You Need?
3min
11.
The Most Important EQ Skill for Your Career?
2min
12.
EQ - Is Your Mentor a Mentor?
2min
13.
Combs Leadership Management and Communication Skills
3min
14.
Product Development Podcast
5min
15.
How Do You Find Mentors?
2min
16.
Mentoring
3min
17.
The Benefits of Working at a Large Company
2min
18.
How Did You Learn EQ?
3min
19.
Learning Skills One Time?
3min
20.
How Do You Ask for Feedback?
2min
21.
The Kind of Feedback You Want When You Get Feedback From People
2min
22.
What's the Best Way to Develop Your Skills?
5min
23.
How Do You Find a Mentor?
5min
24.
How to Find an Amazing Mentor
2min
25.
How Do You Build a Relationship With Your Mentors?
3min
26.
How to Learn How to Be a PM
2min
27.
Four Questions for EQ Coaches
2min
28.
Interview Questions - Interview Questions
2min
Jules Walter is a product leader at YouTube and co-founder of both the Black Product Managers Network and Codepath.org. Previously, he led monetization and mobile growth teams at Slack. He’s also a very well-known leader in the broader product community. In today’s episode, we discuss the skills that matter most to PMs, and how to build those skills. We also spend quite a bit of time talking about the importance of finding mentors to help you learn new skills, how to nail your next job interview, barriers to entry for underrepresented people, and some of the most common paths into product management.
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Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/leveraging-mentors-to-uplevel-your-career-jules-walter-youtube-slack/
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Thank you to our wonderful sponsors for supporting this podcast:
• Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security: https://vanta.com/lenny
• Notion—One workspace. Every team: https://www.notion.com/lennyspod
• Linear—The new standard for modern software development: https://linear.app/lenny
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Where to find Jules Walter:
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/julesdwalt
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juleswalter/
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Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
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Referenced:
• Black Product Managers Network: https://www.blackproductmanagers.com
• Maryanna Quigless on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/quigless/
• Brittany Bankston on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittany-bankston-77693a85/
• Benin Saffo on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benin-saffo/
• Lawrence Ripsher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawrenceripsher/
• Matt Mochary on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/videos/how-to-fire-people-with-grace-work-through-fear-and-nurture-innovation-matt-mochary/
• Adriel Frederick on Lenny’s Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/humanizing-product-development-adriel-frederick-reddit/id1627920305?i=1000583287891
• Bangaly Kaba on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iambangaly/
• The Minto Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing, Thinking, and Problem Solving: https://www.amazon.com/Minto-Pyramid-Principle-Writing-Thinking/dp/0960191046
• Pathwise Leadership: https://pathwiseleadership.com/
• Erin Teague on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinteague/
• Bradley Horowitz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradleyhorowitz/
• Nikhyl Singhal on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhyl/
• Tim Ferriss on what makes a great mentor: https://www.businessinsider.com/tim-ferriss-what-makes-great-mentor-2017-11
• Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended on It: https://www.amazon.com/Never-Split-Difference-audiobook/dp/B01COR1GM2
• Connect: Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends and Colleagues: https://www.amazon.com/Connect-Building-Exceptional-Relationships-Colleagues/dp/0241986869
• Chris Voss’s MasterClass on negotiating in the workplace: https://www.masterclass.com/sessions/classes/win-workplace-negotiations
• Lex Fridman’s podcast: https://lexfridman.com/podcast/
• Never Have I Ever on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80179190
• Top Gun: Maverick on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KBTJBiL3oQ
Interview Prep Communities:
• Lewis C Lin's Interview Community: https://join.slack.com/t/pminterview/shared_invite/zt-1mqc5lzdt-SZuIvbzZIl8ob7UJeydVGg
• Exponent: https://www.tryexponent.com/
• StellarPeers: https://stellarpeers.com/
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In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Jules’s background
(06:07) Two paths to becoming a product manager
(07:20) How Jules became the first growth PM at Slack
(09:03) Black Product Managers Network and Codepath.org
(12:05) The most important skills to refine as a PM: IQ skills and EQ skills
(14:48) How to improve your interview skills
(18:50) Why interviewing is more difficult for underrepresented people
(20:39) EQ skills: what are they and how to improve them
(22:44) The EQ skills Jules has had to develop over the course of his career
(24:27) The importance of having a mentor or coach for self-reflection
(26:09) How cultivating self-awareness helped Jules improve his communication
(30:13) Strategies for learning new skills
(35:32) Improving strategy, execution, and product sense
(37:00) How identifying best practices can help you improve skills
(40:22) Communicating clearly and asking for feedback
(42:38) Methods Jules uses to improve skills
(45:31) How to approach asking for feedback
(47:46) Why it’s harder to get honest feedback on EQ skills
(50:56) The importance of understanding your strengths and weaknesses and leaning into the former
(55:18) Jules’s most impactful mentors
(56:14) The qualities to look for in a good mentor and how to approach them
(1:02:15) How to foster the best relationship with your mentor
(1:06:51) Lightning round
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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.
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