Sumathi spent 15 years in product management feeling stuck and overlooked, despite her experience. After the Inspired Product Leader program, she got promoted to Director by learning to own her confidence, have harder conversations, and adapt how she communicates. The cohort community made the biggest difference, showing her she wasn't alone.
Chapters
Sumathi, it's great to see you. How are you?
I am so excited, Lynne Levy. I am. I could say that, you know, I'm so happy, I'm excited. I am anxious and nervous as well. But I know that it is not— that it's not wrong, or it's not bad to be feeling that way. Because anytime you get into a new position, and this is a position I really wanted, but it's also a huge, you know, step up, right? And I'm so proud of myself to have made it, but it is not incorrect to be anxious. I think that's the right thing. It will happen, but I also know that when I, when I am there, I have the right tools that you have given me to just go and take it in the right direction.
I mean, you are stepping up into a director role tomorrow.
That is correct. I can't believe— like, this morning I got my, uh, my account set up. I set up my new computer, my workplace, and I saw my title, Director Product Management, and I'm like, is this real?
Oh, you so deserve it. You are so ready.
And thank you for making it happen, Lynne.
Of course, I'm so happy for you. Tell us, where— before you joined the program, where were you with your job, with your career, with the stress, with the overwhelm?
And when I moved into product management, I almost started from base level one more time after 15+ years of my career. But I knew that I had to you know, move faster and level up. So I patiently, you know, worked through my product management for the past 7 years. And I strongly believe that I could, you know, do more with my past experience and the current experience in product management, but I really did not know how to do it.
Right.
Because anytime I would, you know, anytime I would approach companies, they would look at just my 7 years of experience, but not the 15 years experience that I already put in the industry. And that was like bothering me quite a bit. My current company is great. It's a phenomenal company. I have a huge, you know, respect and relationship with my boss. She's almost like a friend. I was doing great in my current job, but I knew that, you know, I couldn't, you know, take that step-by-step approach of leveling up. I had to, you know, move to a position where I have a seat on the table. I'm able to contribute to decision-making, and I'm able to, you know, build a team and build products. You know, that's where I wanted to go. And I was stuck because I just didn't know how to do that. Right. It could be just how do I influence people with my point of view in boardroom meetings, or how do I confidently speak up You know, this conflict between your position and what you can do was, was bothering me quite a bit.
Absolutely.
That's where I was before, before I joined you.
So when you joined, what were some of the key things that were like the aha moments for you?
So what I felt, you know, as I was going through this, you know, you know, this course with you was It was like peeling an onion for me, right? I had— I— it is so interesting that I felt like I was covered with so much of this unnecessary layers, and they were like perceptions about yourself or the biases that were there, or my own limiting beliefs that I had, you know, created for myself with did not, should not exist, or need not exist. And I felt like, you know, this was nothing to do with somebody outside. This was not nothing to do with the companies outside, nothing to do with the recruiters or the hiring managers or anybody out there. It is all about me, right? And that was the biggest, you know, aha moment for me, saying that I'm not doing what I'm supposed to do. I'm not putting myself out there to give the people the confidence that I can do this. I have so many perceptions, wrong perceptions about myself. So if I don't believe in myself, how do you expect somebody else to believe in you? So these were, you know, like the aha moments for me. And, and it was irony that, you know, I used to keep telling my two daughters, who's like, I want you to be strong, you need to stand up for yourself, you need to speak up, you need to do that. But I was not doing any of those things myself. Like, it felt like, it felt like, you know, it was, it was like that, you know, self-realization moment for me. When I, when I, when I just started peeling those onions and started experimenting on all the tools and say, let me go with this different communication style and talk to this person. Or I used to always avoid hard conversations, I used to avoid hard people. Right. And I also think I was a little judgmental about some kind of people who are very, you know, strong and aggressive. I used to put them in the category of, you know, oh, these, these are hard people and not even bother to, you know, create a relationship with them. And I think all those things changed with the course that I took with you. I'm like, I cannot avoid people based on what their personality is just because it's not resonating with me. I should not look at their I should take advantage if I know what their style is to communicate with them in the right style rather than avoiding them.
You have come so far and starting this new role tomorrow as a director.
Yeah.
So let's say you were to bump into somebody on the street at a local coffee store and they were to say, all right, what the heck is this Inspired Product Leader program? Should I join it? What do you recommend people think about before they join?
What Lynne brings to you is probably, it's almost like she's an enabler, but she is that person who's going to, you know, it is almost like show the light on you, but you have to soak everything up. And the results is, if you do, if you're doing the right thing, the results will come.
Yeah, of course they will.
Right? For me, I did not, I didn't land a job in the 3 months I was working with Lynne Levy. It took another month, but I knew that I was in the right direction and I focused.
Amazing. You know, I mean, you settled your current job down, got that back of the head voice quieted down, owned what you wanted with your boss.
Yeah.
Landed an amazing job. Tell us about the power of the Inspired Product Leader community. And what difference that has made.
So, you know, one thing that I have started to realize, you know, it is so important to have that community aspect and the cohort aspect. Comes to Inspired Product, it's like, I'm struggling with this particular thing, but I don't know whom to talk to. But when you are able to, you know, express it out and speak about it and hear others' story which resonates with you, you feel, okay, I'm not alone. I can get through this. You know, that feeling of I am not alone is so powerful. And, and when you are able to help others with some stories and how you were able to bounce back, it just gives the other person the strength and, and the hope that, okay, we can get through this. Absolutely. And, uh, you know, that's why when somebody was talking about I got laid off, I'm like, Okay, this is not 1958 when you need to worry about getting laid off, right?
Of course you're going to land a job.
Yeah, it's true. It's not you sometimes, it's their budgeting, it's their problem, it's everything there. So we should not be worrying about that anymore.
And what I love, when that happened to somebody in the community, how the whole community basically surrounded her with support.
Yes. So that's, that's, I feel it's all, you know, I believe that if you're taking 10, you need to give back 90. And that, that is, that is what I look forward to. I got so much from this community. So anybody who reaches out to me and says, I need to talk to you for some time because I'm still not able to decide about this program, I say, hey, let's talk, and I jump onto a call immediately with them. Excellent.
Yes, yes, you've got this. You know exactly what you are doing. You are meant for this.
Thank you, Lynne. Thanks for everything. Thanks for, thanks for creating this community. I mean, this is, this is so beautiful.
Thank you, thank you. And I will see you on Slack.
Yes.
All right, Samathi, thank you so very much. Bye-bye.
