The Future Self Canvas in Action: Conversation with Annu Augustine, Founder of NedRock

How can you help your product managers meet their goals? It helps to translate big, lofty ideas into specific plans of action. And one tool that can help you achieve that is the Future Self template.

This concept originated in the book FYI: For Your Improvement published by organizational consultancy Korn Ferry. I’ve written and spoken about how product leaders and managers can use this tool (see Chapter 6 of my book STRONG Product People for more details), but today I’m excited to share someone else’s perspective.

Annu Augustine is the founder of product management training and consulting company NedRock in beautiful Cape Town, South Africa. Annu has also found this framework useful in her training and consulting work.

My blog editor, Melissa Suzuno, conducted this interview with Annu to learn how she’s used the Future Self template to help the product managers she coaches to develop their skills.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your role.

I have over 10 years of product management experience and worked for both startups and corporates. I founded NedRock five years ago, and a key part of our services is providing coaching for product managers and product leaders.

Based on my personal experience and as part of our engagement with various organizations, I have found that most product managers learn on the job and make a lot of expensive mistakes along the way. While product management training is useful for laying the foundations and gaining knowledge, product managers face tough challenges when they put into practice what they have learned in the real world.

“I have found that most product managers learn on the job and make a lot of expensive mistakes along the way” - Tweet This

In addition to this, product leaders are often very busy and have very limited time to provide the necessary coaching or sometimes don’t have a specific skill set.

I have been focusing on coaching and growing product managers and product leaders to be confident in what they do and ‘to find their voice’ (as Petra would say).

How did you come across the Future Self template?

I came across this template when I was listening to a recording of Petra’s Mind The Product(MTP) talks. I immediately decided to use it as a tool in my coaching engagements with individual product managers as I could see the value in it. I realized it would help me structure the coaching program and help product managers reflect on areas that need improvement.

What were you hoping to achieve with it?

I wanted to use it to create a development plan for each of the product managers, guide the initial coaching discussions, and define achievable action points. I was looking for a tool to co-create a coaching plan and use it to facilitate discussions with both the product manager and the person they report into.

How did you introduce the Future Self to your clients?

It complemented my coaching process quite well. I have an assessment tool that I use to gauge where each product manager is in terms of their skills, it also highlights where the gaps are. Once this is done, the next step is introducing the Future Self canvas.

I explain the key parts of the canvas to both the product manager and their line manager. The gaps identified during the initial assessment are used as input when performing this activity. The product manager then fills it in, gets feedback from peers, and then reviews it with the manager.

Product managers who have a good idea of what they want to learn found it easy to fill it in while some struggled with it. This is why I often encouraged them to sit with their manager and peers to get their input.

It also took an iteration or two to fine-tune it. As a product coach, I found that it is absolutely essential that managers are involved in the process. I was more involved in the cases where the manager did not have the time to do so.

What have the results been?

Product managers are generally very busy, so one needs to be practical about what can be achieved in three to four months. The tool highlighted where training and coaching is required and helps guide these conversations with the managers.

“Product managers are generally very busy, so one needs to be practical about what can be achieved in three to four months” - Tweet This

The conversations that emerged while filling in and reviewing the canvas were quite interesting. It forced long-term thinking and helped identify areas that were important to focus on. It also resulted in defining the role of the product manager within the context of the organization, especially when it wasn’t clear before. The entire exercise, i.e. assessment and canvas, surfaced tasks/activities that were not within the scope or control of the product manager and in this way brought clarity to the role.

Here is a quote from one product manager I worked with, Celeste Visagie:

“The canvas helped me to get my thoughts structured and to get a pretty clear picture of what I wanted to achieve with the help of the product management coaching. It also made me think long and hard about what is within my power to change and what is not. This is significant to me, because as much as I would like to change the world in a week, some things take longer than three months and others won’t be done without the help of a team; and in some cases a whole organization.

It’s such a useful tool for self-evaluation and self-discovery, but I am grateful that you guided me to focus on achievable actions that are possible within the three months that we worked together. I definitely think you should continue using it in coaching.”

Want to give the Future Self template a try with your team? Download your copy here!