Product Leadership Blog

Why Your Transformation Might Not Be Going as Well as You Expected… And What to Do About it

“Things need to change.” “The way we’re serving our customers is ineffective.” “Our approach to product management could use some help to achieve state-of-the-art status.” Any of these statements sound familiar?These are sentiments I often encounter from (product) leaders who have attended a workshop, training, or offsite. Whether it was an SVPG workshop, a Swiss Business School Executive Education course, or a networking conversation, some little spark ignited what’s now become a burning desire for transformation.

The Art of Saying No, Product Leadership Edition

If we had infinite resources, we would be able to say yes all the time. But sadly, that’s not the world we live in. Things are scarce: time, competent humans able to get a job done (often called “developers”), money for software licenses, cloud storage... you name it. Product management is so much about working within these limitations that it’s only natural that saying no is such a vital part of our job.

Product LeadershipPetra Wille25 March 2024Product Leadership, Saying no

How to Keep Your Community Sponsors Happy in Your Product Community of Practice

What’s the secret sauce for a thriving product Community of Practice (CoP)? While there are many ingredients in the recipe—which can include things like clear guidelines and regular rituals—one of the most critical ones is the sponsor. Like the customer who orders a dish (and pays for it) in the restaurant, the sponsor provides the reason for a community to exist and supplies the resources for it to be successful.

Congratulations to Marty Cagan and SVPG on the New Book, TRANSFORMED

Exciting news in the world of product: Marty Cagan and the SVPG team have just released a new book, TRANSFORMED: Moving to the Product Operating Model. This book is slated to “bridge the gap between where most companies are now and where they need to be” by introducing the concept of the product operating model and sharing detailed case studies of successful transformations and product innovation made possible as the result of product operating model transformation.

Are You a Product Manager Selecting a New Boss? Here’s How to Assess Product Leaders

In any role, your manager has the ability to make or break your experience. But perhaps this is especially the case for product managers because your job involves so much cross-functional collaboration and influencing without authority, so even more than other roles, you need a leader who will support and empower you.
Whether you’re interviewing for a new product job or your company is hiring a product leader and you’ve been asked to participate in the interview process, you will occasionally find yourself in the position of choosing your new boss.

What Makes a Great Product Culture? A Guide for Product Leaders

I recently began working with a new client eager to start a product Community of Practice (CoP). Our initial workshop, a leadership team outcome session, delved into the core question: "Why a CoP? What do we hope to gain and what would be the ideal impact on our company?"

Product LeadershipPetra Wille10 January 2024Product Culture, Communities of Product Practice

Your Lifetime: The Non-Renewable Resource in Career Negotiations

As the year winds down, many of us find ourselves immersed in personal retrospectives (I just published one myself!), reflecting on our current roles, jobs, and the paths we tread. It's a time when questions about career trajectories and the value of our work come to the fore. This moment of introspection often leads to pondering one of the most critical yet overlooked aspects of professional life: the true nature of the trade-off we're making in our jobs.

What I’m Dedicating 2024 to: A Look at the Year Ahead

As we see 2024 on the horizon, I've decided to use some time to reflect and plan ahead. The annual ritual of penning this blog post helps me align my goals, and I hope it inspires you in your professional journey, too. Here's a look back at 2023 and a glimpse into what 2024 has in store for me.

PersonalPetra Wille7 December 2023Personal Retro

Is your company ready for Product Operating Model Coaching?

Is your company ready for a Product Operating Model transformation? This article introduces three essential pillars to assess your readiness: pain, urgency, and help. If you're a product leader grappling with misalignment and inefficiencies, this guide offers a practical framework to evaluate whether your organization is prepared for meaningful change.

Introducing My New Book, STRONG Product Communities!

I’m thrilled to announce that my new book, Strong Product Communities is now out! If you’d like to just go ahead and grab your copy, you can do so here. But if you’d like to learn a bit more about the story behind the book and what to expect from it, you’ll find that information below.

I Asked What Exactly Do We Mean by “Product Leaders”—Here’s How People Answered

Not too long ago, I posed a question here on my blog and on social media: What exactly do we mean by “product leaders”? I shared how I’ve recently noticed a trend where people seem to use the title “product lead” or “product leader” when describing an individual contributor product manager. The argument seems to be that the title “product manager” doesn’t do a good job of encompassing all of the responsibilities the product person holds.

Product LeadershipPetra Wille11 October 2023Product Leaership, Terminology

Celebrating 10 Years as a Solopreneur: A Journey of Discovery, Growth, and Community

As this summer draws to a close, I’m celebrating a major milestone: I’ve now completed ten years of running my own business. Whether I call myself a freelancer, solopreneur, coach, or consultant (and I’ve pretty much used all those labels at one point or another), I think it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on the past decade.

PersonalPetra Wille10 October 2023Milestone Moments, Solopreneurship

Fixing the Shipyard, Not Just the Ships: How Product Leaders Should Empower Their PMs

When one of your direct reports comes to you with a problem, is your first instinct to step in and help them solve it? If that’s the case, I totally get where you’re coming from. As product people, we naturally fall into the role of problem solvers. But if you’re regularly focused on solving all these problems on a one-off basis as they pop up, I have some tough news: You’re probably not being as effective a leader as you could be.

Product LeadershipPetra Wille18 September 2023Product Leadership, Shipyard, Fix the System

What Exactly Do We Mean by “Product Leaders”?

I’ve recently noticed a trend within the product world that’s a little unsettling to me. We’ve typically created a distinction between product managers or product owners, the individual contributors who are responsible for product discovery and delivery, and product leaders or product leads, the people in a leadership role who manage product managers or product teams.

Everyone Deserves Time Off: Here’s How to Ensure Your PMs Are Prepared for It

“You’re the most offline person I know while on holiday.” This was a comment one of my coachees, a product director, heard from their manager. As we dove into the conversation, it became clear that this comment was not intended as a compliment. In fact, it was the manager’s not-so-subtle way of saying, “Maybe you should be a bit more available online during your time off.”

Bite sized tips, Product LeadershipPetra Wille22 August 2023Product Leadership

Product Storytelling: How Matthew Arnold Used a Comic to Share His Product Strategy

Storytelling is a critical skill for product people. And it’s often not enough to tell your story one time in one format—you need to experiment with sharing it many times in many formats to find what works best for your company and stakeholders. This is why I love this story from my coachee, Matthew Arnold, Director of Product at Brain in Hand. Matthew knew that he needed a way to communicate his product vision and strategy—or “stratevision” as he calls it—and he landed on a solution that’s both simple and effective: a comic.

My Thoughts on Product at Heart 2023

If you’ve been following my blog or social media accounts lately, you probably already know that Product at Heart took place from June 28–30.
Since I wrote a few weeks ago about why I was bursting with excitement in the lead-up to the event, I figured I couldn’t leave you hanging. In this post, you’ll find a quick recap of how it all went. Spoiler alert: It was an exciting, exhausting, inspiring, and overall amazing experience.

On stage and on airPetra Wille13 July 2023Conference, Product at Heart, Events

Why Agile Coaches Can't Be Product Coaches

Over the past few years, I've noticed a growing visibility of product coaches in our industry. They're at the conferences, they're prominent on social media, and their influence is making waves in the business world. As a result, many companies are beginning to recognize the potential value that a product coach can bring to their organization. This is a good thing!

Case Study: Coaching Through Transformation at Novo Nordisk

I know it’s been a minute (okay, slightly longer than that) since I’ve offered a glimpse into what I’ve been up to. Of course I’ve shared news about the Product at Heart conference and my Communities of Practice research, but I haven’t shared any updates on my actual product leadership coaching for a while. But that all changes today!

STRONG Conversations: Summer 2023 Edition

How did those of us in the northern hemisphere find ourselves in summer already? It’s hard to believe, but somehow we’re here! Speaking of summer, it was such a thrill to see so many of you curious product people at the Product at Heart conference this June. Definitely a new favorite "summertime" ritual!

But the purpose of this blog post is not to remark on the seasons or the passage of time, but to share that I’ve been continuing to have thought-provoking and engaging conversations (which I hope you’ll agree is the case!) on various podcasts and speaking engagements.

On stage and on airPetra Wille19 June 2023Strong Conversations, Podcast