Lenny DistilledCraft → Career Growth
Clear demonstrated impact from an end to end product cycle to me is probably one of the better indicators of readiness for someone to take on more. You basically want to give them more, because now they have a pattern of doing things properly.
One of the things that I think is overlooked is do a really good job at whatever your job is at that point. People have a tendency... Especially product managers are very ambitious and they want to get to the next level and they're always eyeing the next job, but you're not going to get the next job unless you do really well at the job that you're in.
Do people want to work with them? Do people at some point, as they go up and become more senior, do people want to work for them? Ultimately people make choices. And if you have a bunch of smart people and they're making smart choices and they're choosing this person to follow or to be with and work with them, there is a ton of value in that.
After a little bit of time, I would start to be like, 'Hey, you have your planning committee today. Here are the three questions I want you to go in and get answered at that committee. And if they say this, I want you to ask this and this.' And after a little bit of that, I was like, 'It might be easier if I just go, I might be able save you some time and some energy if I just joined you.'
For your first six months on a product, probably don't worry about strategy. For your six months really, you should be talking to customers, researching your product stuff. Really starting off by saying, 'I'm going to learn the strategy, whatever strategy my company already has, and I'm going to do my research, but I'm going to deliver on that strategy.'
A lot of times you've been assigned a problem where a huge creative solution is a bad idea. If you're in one of the situations, just do the simple thing, get it done really well. And that'll earn you the trust to be able to take on bigger things in the future, but you don't need to be outstanding to make it past the APM promotions. You just need to be doing a solid, good job.
I think impact solves all PM issues, which is if a team is consistently building things people love and changing the director of the business, everything else is just an input.
If you're present in your job, and you actually have fun with it and solve the problems, people will come out of the woodwork, say, 'You're great, and tell your boss you should be promoted.' You don't need to ask for a promotion. Your outcomes should speak for themselves.