Ken Norton, an executive coach, discusses the evolution of product management and the difference between empowered and unempowered product teams. He emphasizes the need for experienced product leaders and suggests developing apprenticeship programs. The podcast also explores the challenges of transitioning from reactive to purpose-driven leadership and creating an environment for product people to thrive. Ken highlights the power of setting big goals and having a vision in inspiring and rallying teams.
Leaders should empower and trust their product teams, allowing for ownership and accountability.
When setting a vision, leaders should provide a compelling narrative without micromanaging the process.
Trust, psychological safety, and a culture that embraces failure are crucial for teams to take risks and innovate.
Deep dives
Vision and Empowerment: Inspiring Product Leadership
Vision and empowerment were key aspects of product management at Google. Leaders at Google provided a sense of ownership and empowerment to product teams, allowing them to decide on the best course of action and be accountable for the outcomes. Ambitious goals were set, such as creating a single unified experience across Google or imagining a world where users never get lost. These goals provided a clear North Star for teams to rally around. Google leaders believed in the capabilities of their teams and trusted them to figure out the best way to achieve the objectives. This sense of empowerment and trust fostered an environment where teams felt inspired and motivated to build amazing products.
Balancing Vision and Specificity: Creating Effective North Stars
When setting a North Star, it is important to find a balance between providing a compelling vision and offering specific guidance. Leaders should paint a picture of what success looks like and inspire their teams by communicating the impact and benefits that can be achieved. It is not necessary to provide step-by-step instructions on how to achieve the vision. Instead, trust and empower the teams to figure out the best path forward. By focusing on the destination and the outcomes, rather than micromanaging the process, teams are given the freedom to explore and innovate. This approach allows for greater creativity, ownership, and engagement among team members.
Translating Vision into Storytelling: The Power of Stories
Leaders should focus on telling stories that bring the future vision to life. Instead of just sharing a destination, leaders should immerse their teams in a compelling narrative that describes the future state, the benefits it brings, and the opportunities it presents. By creating a vivid and inspiring story, leaders can engage their teams' emotions and imagination, generating enthusiasm and motivation. The story becomes the driving force that guides the teams towards achieving the vision. Encouraging teams to embrace their creativity, explore different routes, and find innovative solutions allows for a more dynamic and empowering approach.
Instilling Trust and Psychological Safety: Enabling Team Autonomy
To create an environment conducive to realizing the North Star vision, trust and psychological safety are essential. Leaders should trust their teams to make autonomous decisions and provide them with the authority and support needed to take risks and innovate. This trust empowers teams to take ownership and be accountable for their work. Leaders should foster a culture where failure is seen as learning opportunities and mistakes are viewed as opportunities for growth. Psychological safety allows teams to freely express ideas, challenge assumptions, and collaborate effectively. By cultivating trust and psychological safety, leaders enable their teams to take risks, think creatively, and deliver outstanding results.
Recognizing and Adapting to Environments: Navigating Organizational Realities
Not all organizations may provide the necessary environment to fully support the North Star vision. Leaders need to assess the culture, processes, and dynamics within their organizations to determine if there is room for creativity, innovation, and empowerment. In some cases, leaders may need to challenge the status quo and create pockets of space for their teams to operate differently. However, if the organization is fundamentally resistant to change and stifles autonomy, it may be necessary for individuals to consider seeking opportunities elsewhere, where their North Star vision and leadership style can be better aligned and have a greater chance of success.
Ken Norton is Melissa Perri’s guest on this episode of the Product Thinking Podcast. Ken is an executive coach who is passionate about “whole person” coaching– he works with product leaders not just on their careers but on their growth and development in all facets of their lives.
Ken joins Melissa to discuss the evolution of product management, the stark difference between empowered and unempowered product teams, his biggest piece of advice to early career PMs, what great leadership looks like, his 14 years of experience working at Google and on products like Google Maps and Google Calendar, and why ultimately, product is all about people.
Here are some key points Ken and Melissa talk about:
Ken reflects on how the product management field has changed and matured over the years. Product management is no longer a “nascent, upstart concept”- it’s an established role that people understand the need for.
Ken laments the number of product leaders with no experience in the field being hired into companies. He discusses “this trend of people putting leaders in the position of product leadership, who have never been in the product field before.”
Senior product leaders should develop and execute an apprenticeship-type program for people who want to work in the product field.
Melissa comments that several product leaders are becoming general managers; she worries about the future of people who are purely product people. Ken says that he sees the general manager position as “a maturity of the product leadership role, a recognition of how important and critical that job really is.”
Successful product leaders learn to lead in a way that inspires others, while confronting challenges in a proactive way.
Ken talks about his experience at Google, and shares stories and examples about the leadership team and their approach to product.
Ensuring your team’s success means laying your plan out in steps and showing real evidence: it means showing a path forward that people can rally behind.
Resources
Ken Norton on LinkedIn | Twitter | Bring the Donuts, LLC
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