Lynne Levy says product managers chasing director or senior roles need a "fan club" of advocates championing them behind closed doors. Make your work visible through Slack and email, link your product to company vision using revenue metrics, and lead collaboratively. The "hope strategy" of working hard in silence won't get you promoted.
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Hello, product managers and leaders. Are you ready to move into a leadership position? A director, group product manager, or senior product management position? I have 3 things you need to start to do immediately to help get you there. First, my name is Lynne Levy, and I'm a product management leader, coach, and mentor. My passion is to help product managers fast-track to leadership and love what they do. So let's get right to it. So here's the secret to landing the promotion. You need to build a fan club. In other words, a group of colleagues, stakeholders, and leaders who see you as an amazing product leader and will support your growth. Here's the reality. Most decisions that are made which impact your career actually don't involve you. For example, Who will get the new innovation product? Promotion decisions. Who gets the large bonus? And who gets put on the strategic, visible, cross-departmental initiatives? You need to have a group of leaders who will advocate for you when key decisions are being made. It needs to be more than your direct report and VP. You need to have brought in other key leaders to advocate for you. So there are 3 ways to do this. First, I want you to make your work visible, and I want you to advocate for yourself. I know this may be a little bit uncomfortable, but you need to do it. So many product managers assume that if they just keep working hard, they'll get noticed. I call this the hope strategy. Unfortunately, it doesn't work. To advance your career, you need to let people know how awesome you are. And actually, the best way to do this is through the product. Celebrate every product win, whether it's a new customer, a new release, or something the team has done differently. Let others know. Send out Slack messages and emails to leadership about the win. When you're on a Zoom call or in the elevator with the senior leader, mention the most recent win for the product group. Second thing to do to build a fan club is to show your strategic skills. First, understand how your product ties into the broader company vision. Use strategic terms such as revenue, customer churn when talking to leaders. I also want you to look at the market and spot future trends. Go beyond your product into the general market where your organization operates. What are the future pain points of your users, of your buyers? Spend time each week, I recommend about an hour, understanding these trends. Then start talking about these trends and how they apply to the product. You want to be seen by other leaders as someone who is not just able to do great product execution, but also should be driving product strategy. Third, be the leader others want to follow. Build a fan club of stakeholders who know you're not only a rockstar product manager, but an amazing leader. Be the leader who creates an environment where everybody contributes, where people are trusted, where all ideas are welcome, and this is when amazing innovation will happen. This means you may need to speak last. You need to be open when people give you feedback. At meetings, I want you to create an environment where people can truly collaborate with each other in a safe way, where people aren't thrown under the bus. And most importantly, you need to treat each person you work with with value and respect. You want to be seen as a strategic leader up and down from individual contributors to departmental VPs. When others believe in you, your strategy skills, and your ability to lead, they will advocate for you when those critical decisions are being made. So build a fan club in your organization. Remember, hope is not a career strategy. If you're ready to get unstuck and accelerate your product career, then take the first step and watch my free webinar. Thank you so very much.
