Power to the Empowered

December 4, 2023

Happy Monday everyone! Lots going on in the Cleveland Product scene, so let’s get to it!

Article of the Week

Product teams operate best with a certain amount of autonomy. They are generally closer to the technology and the customers. Yet at many companies product teams are not empowered to make decisions on the future direction of their product, and many times are told by leadership what solution to build. This leads to employee frustration, products that are not used, or poor talent retention.

Which is why Product teams should be empowered.

Marty Cagan wrote a legendary book about why this approach is the way to go. But putting this into practice in real life is very difficult, and he wrote a recent article about the best ways to create empowered Product teams. HE makes many good points in this article, but here are my favorite:

  1. Decisions - Empowered Product teams can make decisions about the future of their products based on their knowledge of the technology, their knowledge of the customers, and their working arrangement with each other. However, as Marty says, “But teams can only make good decisions when they are provided the necessary strategic context.” Product teams need to know the problem they are solving and how it fits into the organization’s long-term vision.

  2. Focus - Regardless of the industry you are in or the products you are building, there is always uncertainty. There will always be unexpected things that arise - customer behavior changes, a new competitor enter the market, or disruptions caused by factors outside your control. As Marty says, “The product teams understand that the world changes, there will always be new prospective customers, new opportunities, and new threats, but depend on the executives to strive to stay focused, at least on a quarterly basis.“

  3. Trust - For any personal or professional relationship to succeed, there has to be a significant degree of trust amongst all parties. The trust between Product teams and their leadership is no different. And that responsibility lies with both parties, as the Product team trusts that their leadership gives them the necessary tools and guidance, while leadership is trusting the Product team to come up with the best solution based on their experience with the technology and their knowledge of the customers.

I encourage you to read the entire article so you can help influence your company to allow you to become empowered!

Product Jobs of the Week

The Product roles at Cleveland companies keep rolling in!

Upcoming Events

  • December 12th - Product Lean Coffee

  • January 19th - Everything I need to know about Product I Learned in the Restaurant Industry

  • February 13th - Product Management in Practice - A Conversation with Matt LeMay

About the Author

My name is Shawn Leitner. I started the Cleveland Product networking group in 2017, which helps to connect Product professionals around Cleveland, providing them with a forum to network, learn, and share stories. For my day job, I'm a Product Consultant & Coach for Pathfinder Product and help clients implement strong Product practices so they can create products that their teams love building and their customers love using. Connect with me on LinkedIn or feel free to attend one of my events either virtually or in-person. Always up for meeting for a cup of coffee also!