Product Leadership Tips from a Guide to CTOs
Product Leadership Tips from a Guide to CTOs Business Drivers Podcast | Hosted by Jim Cuene | March 2022
About this episode
Jen joins Jim Cuene on the Business Drivers podcast to dig into what it actually takes to lead a digital product transformation — and why the hardest part has nothing to do with technology. They explore the emotional intelligence required to navigate organizational change, what's really going on inside the "frozen middle," and why the skills Jen learned studying adult learning and development turn out to be exactly what transformation work demands.
What they covered
Why the skills that got leaders to the top are often the same ones holding transformation back
What the "frozen middle" is — and why it's the real obstacle in most transformation efforts
How the shift from project-based to product-based funding breaks everything organizations have built around annual capital planning
Why emotional intelligence and vulnerability matter more than technical knowledge in a product leadership role
What it looks like when a team finally "gets it" — and what had to change to get them there
Why the best product managers are great human beings first, and why those skills can't be taught
A few things Jen said
"I have an advanced degree in metaphor. My job is a little bit like being a Sherpa — there's no clear path, but we know we're starting at base camp and we've got to get to the summit."
"The frozen middle — senior director, VP, director level — who have come up through their career in a command and control, very waterfall way of getting stuff done. You get executive teams saying how hard can it be, and people down below saying if we don't make a change I'm going to quit. And then the people in the middle who you actually need to make the change — just entrenched."
"I would take a human being with strong human being skills any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Empathy, communication, the ability to break down complex concepts into meaningful chunks of work — those are the things that make a great product manager."
About Business Drivers Podcast
Business Drivers is a podcast dedicated to helping digital leaders unlock new growth, presented by Fahren.