Don’t Let Your Best Product Managers All Become People Managers Or Your Company Will Suffer

Why Ken Norton’s Twin Product Administration Profession Path Can Additionally Encourage Innovation At Scale

“Rising to your stage of distress” is how Arthur Brooks frames the entice of being ok at your job that you simply proceed to climb a company ladder till arriving at a rung which leaves you in a job that makes you depressing. And oh my does this idea communicate to my very own experiences as a BigCo product lead. I don’t blame my earlier employer however somewhat my very own incapacity to reconcile happiness vs striving and ego, however after studying Ken Norton’s essay advocating for twin Product Administration profession paths, I’m assume it’s additionally an org chart challenge, not only a private one!

Ken’s argument is that the majority tech firms deal with product administration careers in a really totally different approach than they do engineering and design. Specifically, there’s usually not a ‘terminal level’ the place you’ll be able to keep a contributing particular person contributor (it’s extra ‘up or out’) and, extra importantly, an development observe which focuses extra on the PRODUCT and fewer on the MANAGEMENT. Not an IC function per se, however one the place you handle the product assets for a mission scope, not for a division.

There’s a purpose that I help this amended profession ladder, and it’s not nearly private choice, however as an alternative it preserves what I imagine is a obligatory element for innovation in massive firms: the efficient, however unbiased, product chief.

Organizations by design as they develop, scale with individuals who thrive in additional complicated hierarchical environments. Whereas the normal org chart construction may sooner or later get replaced by extra advanced pondering higher suited to technology-driven economies it has dominated capitalism since industrialization. For what it’s value, I’m not disregarding or criticizing the individuals who fill these roles or rejecting the notion that giant firms can’t innovate or do good work. However I additionally don’t assume it’s controversial to recommend that the quantity of course of and construction do problem sure varieties of individualistic pondering and the difficult of norms.

Now, mix the bias in org construction and folks interested in that atmosphere with an incentive construction dependent upon pleasing your boss. At bigger, extra mature firms your alternative for wealth accumulation is tied to development. Development could be very straight linked with making your boss glad to allow them to make their boss glad, and so forth. (Sidenote, for this reason I believe the very best compensation methods don’t let the direct supervisor management the purse, however as an alternative closely incorporate their suggestions right into a 360 diploma course of, self-evaluation and different extra measurable standards).

So, in my expertise, the senior product managers who had additionally opted out of the usual VP promotion observe, have been additionally the reality tellers, the tradition carriers and the inglorious however complicated work-doers. This is a crucial distinction: they’re not ‘relaxation and vest’ — they nonetheless wish to work laborious on precise tasks; they’re not ‘bomb throwers’ — they’re simply individuals who perceive the corporate and might ask questions that both wouldn’t happen to newer staff or who don’t rock the boat.

At Google throughout my interval these have been principally of us who had been round pre-IPO or quickly after, and simply needed to remain round to work laborious however not assume organizational possession roles. They’d reached a snug stage of wealth from that early compensation, and grew up across the colleagues who have been now in senior roles (ie they have been trusted and knew the way to get stuff finished). The neatest product VPs would grant protected haven to 1 or two of those of us with an implicit quid professional quo: I’ll maintain you our of pointless conferences and politics, you’ll be able to work on laborious tasks with small groups, and I’ll reward you to the very best of my skills however you’ve in all probability maxed out on wage band ranges when you can’t get promoted. I had one in all these individuals on my staff for a bit and it was superb for each of us.

So what does Ken’s framework do? It lets these individuals proceed to advance and get awarded for that development, eliminating the necessity for these of us to solely be people who carbon date again to the earliest days of the corporate.

Anyhow, please learn Ken’s essay. As hopefully articulated right here, I believe it’s not only a potential answer to expertise retention and private happiness, however might additionally assist protect innovation as firms develop. Thanks Ken!