20Product: How the Best Teams Do Product Reviews | What Everyone Gets Wrong in Hiring Product Teams | Product Lessons Leading Facebook App Monetisation Team to Billions in Revenue with Maria Angelidou, CPO @ Personio
Oct 4, 2024
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Maria Angelidou, a seasoned product leader with a rich history at Meta, shares her wisdom on building successful product teams. She discusses the vital traits to look for when hiring and how to structure an effective hiring process. Maria reveals common pitfalls in product reviews, emphasizing the difference between good and great approaches. She also contrasts the work ethic and cultural nuances between US and EU product teams. Insightful strategies for balancing speed and quality in product development round out this engaging conversation.
Promotions should occur only after individuals consistently demonstrate success, enhancing job satisfaction and retention through trailing promotions.
Utilizing product management archetypes, such as the Captain, Entrepreneur, and Specialist, enables organizations to nurture diverse talent and retain individual contributors.
Deep dives
Promotion and Preparedness
Promotions should only occur when individuals have consistently demonstrated their ability to succeed at a higher level. Premature promotions can set employees up for failure, as they will be evaluated against individuals who have already excelled in that role. This philosophy of trailing promotions emphasizes the need for employees to show sustained success before advancing. Ensuring that team members are adequately prepared can lead to better retention and overall job satisfaction.
Transitioning to Management
Transitioning from an individual contributor (IC) role to a management position requires a shift in mindset and responsibilities. Managers are accountable not only for their own projects but also for the outcomes of their entire team, including understanding each team member's strengths and areas for growth. Success in this role depends on effective team management, which includes addressing underperformance and fostering professional development. Recognizing these changes early can ease the transition and enhance a manager's effectiveness.
Defining Product Management Archetypes
Implementing product management archetypes addresses the issue of talented individual contributors feeling pressured to transition to management roles in search of career advancement. Three primary archetypes include the Captain, who excels at managing complex projects; the Entrepreneur, skilled in bringing ideas to fruition; and the Specialist, who possesses deep expertise in specific domains. This framework allows companies to nurture talent in various forms, retaining high-level ICs alongside effective management. By establishing clear career paths within these archetypes, organizations can better utilize their talent.
The Balance of Speed and Quality
Achieving both speed and quality in product development is crucial yet challenging, particularly in high-pressure environments. Teams often face the dilemma of whether to prioritize faster execution or to focus on creating a high-quality product, but it is possible to achieve both. By improving processes, leveraging the right tools, and ensuring effective team collaboration, organizations can enable faster work without compromising quality. The goal is to maintain a clear understanding of objectives, which will facilitate optimal performance across teams.
Maria Angelidou is a seasoned product leader, having spent close to a decade at Meta where she was VP of Product and General Manager for some of the largest products such as Facebook Groups (2B+ users), Events, Profile, and Search. Before that, Maria led the Facebook App Monetization team, driving billions of dollars in revenue. Today, Maria is the Chief Product & Technology Officer at Personio, an HR tech company with an ambitious mission to unlock the power of people for SMEs.
In Today's Episode with Maria Angelidou
1. How to Hire the Best Product Teams:
What are the three different archetypes for PMs today?
What non-obvious traits does Maria look for in new product hires?
How does Maria structure the hiring process? What works? What does not?
Does Maria do take home assignments? How has her approach changed here?
What is Maria's biggest advice to candidates on both compensation and title?
2. How the Best Product Teams Do Product Reviews:
What does every team get wrong in how they do product reviews?
What are the four different type of product reviews?
How often does Maria do a product review? Who is invited?
Who sets the agenda? How is it structured?
What makes good vs great product reviews?
3. Europe vs US: How Product Teams Differ:
What is the single biggest difference when comparing product teams in the US vs EU?
Does Maria agree that the work ethic is less in the EU?
Which class of employee would Maria say is more entitled?
What could Europe do to be more competitive with the US?
What was the biggest surprise to Maria on returning to Europe from the US?
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