Welcome to my blog. You may want to filter posts by your role for your convenience. Click here if you are an individual contributor in product (aka. PM) and here if you are leading a product organisation (aka product leader).
Last week was a tough one. Between Elon Musk giving airtime to Alice Weidel, the co-leader of Germany’s far-right AfD party, and Mark Zuckerberg dismantling Meta’s content moderation and DEI programs, the news felt like a series of punches. I shared some initial thoughts about this on LinkedIn, reflecting on how unsettling it is to realize that my generation of geeks helped build the very platforms now fueling these crises.
Read MoreCreating a conference talk isn’t a quick task—it’s a journey I’ve honed over years. I know many people underestimate how much effort goes into creating a great talk, so I’m sharing my entire process here. This is what goes into crafting something that connects, inspires, and lands just right for the audience.
Read MoreThis article might seem like a departure from my usual tips for product leaders and product managers, but I’d encourage you to give it a read if you’ve ever participated in a conference or community and you’re looking for ways to advance your career. I’m sharing some of my observations and hopes for the wider product community and the role we can all play in its success.
Read MoreGenerative AI tools are becoming more accessible by the day, and their use cases are multiplying rapidly. From creating children’s books to assisting teachers with lesson planning to coaching agents for personal growth, AI is everywhere. While the opportunities are exciting, it’s critical that we pause and reflect on the limitations and potential dangers these tools carry.
Read MoreAs we close out 2024, I'm once again pausing to reflect on the past year—its wins, challenges, and the many meaningful moments. This annual reflection helps me celebrate progress, note lessons learned, and look forward with clarity. If you’re interested in seeing any previous years’ editions, you can browse through them here.
Read MoreAs we get to the end of the year, it’s natural for us to want to spend some time reflecting. What went well for us in the past year? What were some areas where we’d like to improve in the future? And while you may naturally spend time doing this for yourself, if you’re a leader, it’s especially important for you to model this type of self-reflection and encourage it on your team.
Read MoreIf you’ve been following my work for a while, you might be familiar with the PMwheel, a tool I designed to be a structured yet flexible "compass" for product management growth. If this is the first time you’re hearing about the PMwheel, you might want to hop over to this post to learn a bit more about it (and if you’re a product leader who’s interested in how you can make use of the PMwheel, I’d suggest starting here).
Read MoreNow that I’ve been blogging regularly for several years, I thought it might be helpful to take a look at my blog’s performance and share the top 20 posts. I’m not doing this just to brag—since I’ve got quite a lot of content, I realize that new readers might be unsure where to dive in. This provides you a handy roadmap you can use to check out the most popular topics (or at least those that get the largest number of page views).
Read MoreIn many of my coaching sessions with product leadership teams, we often touch on the topic of team topologies. This often comes up when there's friction between teams—either they're too small, too large, or just not optimally structured. This friction can lead to inefficiencies and misalignment. Therefore, understanding and applying the principles of team topologies is crucial for any organization aiming to streamline its product development process.
Read MoreOccasionally, people ask me if there are any alternatives to the PMwheel. While I have a strong bias toward the PMwheel (I created it, after all!), I’ve begun to compile a list of other product manager assessment resources that are out there.
Read MoreBeing a good product leader does not mean that you should respond the same way to every situation you encounter. In fact, the sign of a great leader is knowing when to adapt your approach to maximize your team’s long-term development.
Read MoreI recently listened to a podcast episode with Kenneth Berger, and one of his core ideas truly struck a chord with me: uncovering "the dream behind the complaint. Kenneth's insight is a beautiful framing for product leaders. When a direct report comes to you with a complaint, there's often a deeper, unspoken desire behind it.
Read MoreI recently realized that it’s been a year since I last shared an update of my recent appearances on podcasts and other speaking engagements. It seems like it’s about time to change that! Here’s an overview of what I’ve been up to lately.
Read MoreIf you’re already familiar with me and my work, you know that I’m a product leadership coach. And if not, hi, I’m Petra. It’s nice to meet you! Now that we’ve gotten the introductions out of the way, I’d like to dive into a topic that I find super interesting to address as a coach: When is coaching NOT a good idea for you or your team? By the way, thank you to John Cutler for sparking the idea for this post when interviewing me for The Beautiful Mess podcast. You can listen to that episode here.
Read MoreAs product leaders, we shape the standards for our teams. And I think in too many cases, product leaders are not setting high enough standards. Let me explain. I’ve been seeing a trend on social media (LinkedIn, in most cases) where product managers and even product leaders argue that the concepts and frameworks thought leaders (including myself) share and promote are overly ambitious.
Read MoreIn this post, the final in the series, we’ll be reviewing the most important points for you to remember (I’m calling this your “Managing up cheat sheet”) as well as some ways to make sure you tailor your message to your manager’s communication style.
Read Morein the third post in the series, we explored what you can do when you’re experiencing conflict with other people or teams. In this post, we’ll be looking at another specific situation when you might need more support from your boss—when you’d like to develop your PM skills.
Read MoreIn this post, we’ll be looking at a specific situation when you might need more support from your boss—when you’re experiencing conflicts with other people or teams and when the boss competency of role clarity might be the missing piece of the puzzle. Need a refresher on all ten boss competencies?
Read MoreIn the first post in this series, I covered why managing up is an important topic, introduced the ten boss responsibilities and the ships vs. shipyard metaphor, and explained why your boss might be struggling in these areas. Want to read that post? You can find it here. In this post, we’ll be looking at one specific situation when you might need more support from your boss and I’ll share some tips and tricks for you to try out.
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