Sally Goble

The are just a few spots left for me 2h masterclass Essential Coaching Skills for Product Leaders, which I'll be offering to both US and UK/EU time zones. Pick the option that suits you and we'll go from there. My masterclass will aim to answer these three core questions: - What do we mean by “coaching”? - How can a coaching approach change your leadership style? - What is it about asking open-ended questions that make all the difference? The course is a mix of theory and practice, giving everyone an opportunity to put your learnings into practice. If you have any other questions, just drop me a DM and I'll be happy to have a chat.

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Another day in Jim's linked in feed. Today it is tons of posts telling people what a product owner is and how it is not what people and teams usually do. Lots and lots of posts. If agile were a product, they would be support staff telling people to click on the confusing buttons on the poorly defined UI to do a basic function. These posts are all failure demand. If you are answering the question or alerting the user over and over and over again, it's a design issue.

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"You can't have empowered product teams at large organisations. It just doesn't work" Nonsense. Most of the time it doesn't work because the strategy and focus is terrible, so teams don't have the context to make good decisions. A key role for Snr Leaders (product or otherwise) is to be thinking a few years out and constantly and consistantly communicating the strategic context so that product teams can have confidence in the decisions they are making.

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Paying a CPO $300k a year to write Jira tickets and groom a backlog? Seriously? Why are some companies hiring heavy-weight Product Leaders when they don't have to? There's this assumption floating around that the 1st Product hire must be a Product Leader. But that is nonsense! In some cases, it may make sense to hire a Product Leader, like a Head of Product or CPO who can operate in a "Player/Coach" type role. In others, it makes sense to hire a Product Manager who will be a player, and then hire a Product Leader when the business and founding team are ready. If you are unsure of what you need and when to hire for it, DM me and we can provide you with insights and recommendations on the best type of Product hire for your needs! #hiring #recruitment #productmanagement

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I really enjoyed Mind the Product and Mews Meet Up at Rich Mix, Shoreditch this evening where the topic was collaboration in product trios (Product manager + Engineering Manager + designer).. check out a recording at: https://lnkd.in/ejTAfGt8 It was the first Meet Up I've been to for a while and I'm keen to go to more and meet more PMs (and non-PMs) and hear how they work and learn from their experiences, which takes me back to tonight's topic: working in product trios. It's not the first time I've heard about this and I've worked this way before but I haven't implemented it where it wasn't already happening, so it was interesting to hear about how Mews (Aldair Borges, Jakub Tkadleček, Zuzana Hrušovská) and Tesco (Amanda Ho, Dr. John McCarthy) work in trios and how they got started. I love working in smaller, focussed groups with an equal balance of perspectives from different disciplines... but how do you ensure others on the squad don't feel excluded? I'm not a fan of huge meetings as they often result in a lot of conversation but little strategic discussion that leads to action, and they tend to be dominated by the loudest in the room. With one designer in a squad and often multiple engineers, the balance is also off... is product trios the answer? How do you ensure it doesn't shut down wider collaboration across the whole squad? Has anyone tried anything different? #ProductTrio #ProductManagement #PMCommunity #TechCommunity

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The secrets of how experienced engineering leaders accelerating growth of new Tech Leads... 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘦𝘵 + 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 + 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 + 𝘍𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 = 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁 Individual focus → 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 I love Andy Grove's definition 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦. Although I prefer to use the term 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀. It's possible for a team to product a lot of output but not much value! 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱? A team scoped Tech Lead can have many flavours. Is team leadership included? What about line management? What about delivery? Clarity is key 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 Engineer → Tech Lead is a tricky transition. Holding more frequent 1:1's initially Seek feedback from team Stay close 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 We all make mistakes when taking on new responsibilities  Provide both reenforcing and corrective feedback Observations + Impact = Actionable feedback Learn from mistakes Celebrate the wins P.S How do you support new Tech Leads?

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The trick to resolving conflicts and getting the most out of meetings? Writing and drawing ✍️ Love the ”third reference point” shout from Ant Murphy at Product Pathways. Next time you find yourself going around in circles, break out the sharpies and post-its, or fire up Miro. Better still, start the conversation around an artefact. Without a third reference point, there are so many hours wasted. Ideas, insights, and decisions all lost in the ether. Misinterpretations and hidden assumptions that lead to frustrated colleagues, poor user experiences, endless rework, and ultimately product stagnation. Write it down, draw it up ✍️

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There’s one element missing from Simon Sinek’s innovation equation. In software product development, there is: ▪️ Always a sense of urgency. ▪️ Always more work than people available to do it. So, innovation comes down to attitude? I wish. I've been on teams that pulled off amazing things with very little. But, it wasn’t just the optimism of the team. The teams also had the support and backing of leadership to get scrappy, break some things, and blaze a new trail. There has to be a desire for innovation. That comes from leadership. I believe most senior leaders would say they are innovative and want innovation, but they: 🔸 Prescribe solutions instead of empowering teams to solve problems. 🔸 Measure predictability and velocity. 🔸 Punish “failed” experiments. I’d rewrite the formula: Lack of Time + Lack of Resources + Team Optimism + Organizational Will = Innovation What do you think? Share what you’ve seen drive innovation. ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ 🔔 Let's chat if you're looking for fractional or consulting expertise on product development. I’m available in Q4. I'd love to explore options to help founders and heads of product management, design, and engineering.

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Me when I start working on a new Product Ops implementation ⬇️ But seriously though... dear Product Leaders, have you ever felt like your organisation's Marie Kondo? Bringing order to the chaos that is the linen cupboard, putting your teams' cereals into neat containers, and tackling the ever-so-dreaded "everything" drawer? 😱 Kondo has often been asked how she manages to keep such a neat home with two small children, and her answer is something that I frequently reflect on as I work with clients on untangling their "mess": 💡 Rather than viewing her children as the mess creators, she involves them in the tidying, making the practice something that's enjoyable and that's lived by her entire family. And if that's not a lesson in sustainable Product Operations, I don't know what is! As Product Leaders, the Product Ops role often falls on you - whether you have enough bandwidth for it or not. And let's be honest - this role often spirals out of control and turns into a much bigger headache than you expected 😵‍💫 But especially when you have limited resources it's important that you realise the power of collectivism in maintaining the tidy home that is your product organisation. If you hold on to the belief that you must do it all yourself, you WILL drive yourself crazy. Because while it is your responsibility to ensure good Product Operations gets done, it's not just on you to execute. The next time you feel frustrated at the fact that your teams' cereal is all over the counter, don't immediately spring into action yourself. Involve people in the tidying process. Make it a positive, shared experience. Because after all, the satisfaction of improving our own working conditions is something we can all take joy out of. And if you're not quite sure how to do all of this yourself, don't worry - I still have some availability for H2 😉

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How much do Product Managers, Senior Product Managers, Lead Product Managers, and Principal Product Managers get paid in the USA? I get asked this type of question multiple times a day! I've spoken with thousands and thousands of Product Managers and Product Leaders across the USA over the years and have compiled the salary ranges for IC Product Management positions to help try and answer this question. These salary ranges represent what the majority of Product Managers make at their respective level. In addition to this, here are some themes I've noticed that are worth considering when reviewing these figures: 🤔 Early-stage companies may offer lower salaries but offer greater equity to bump up the overall compensation on offer to the candidate. 🤔 Companies hiring in big cities/tech hubs on hybrid or in-office policies tend to pay higher salaries. 🤔 "Specialized" PMs generally command higher salaries than generalists (e.g. Growth/Platform/GTM PMs). 🤔 Some industries pay more than others (e.g. FinTech vs EdTech) 🤔 Base salary is only one part of the compensation package and bonus + equity/options can significantly change the overall compensation on offer If companies want to attract and retain the right person for the job, they have to be aware of what the competition is paying for talent. I'm seeing some companies go to market for positions like Senior Product Manager and offer a salary of $120k. No one at this level is going to move for a below-market rate salary and if they do find someone, it will be a stop-gap job for them until they find something that pays them fairly. Companies paying within the salary ranges (or above) I've provided will be snapping up the best talent. Talented Product pros won't move jobs for below-average pay or a below-average opportunity, no matter how competitive the marketplace might be. Fair pay and compensation are not only a benefit to the employee, but it also helps the company improve staff retention (it makes them feel valued) and consistency which drives productivity and output ($$$). Everyone is a winner when compensation is balanced and fair! #hiring #recruitment #productmanagement

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Remind people to follow your work. Learn more about avoiding handoffs: https://buff.ly/48dOCbC #ContinuousDiscoveryHabits #AvoidHandoffs #prodmgmt #ux #engineering

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"We're looking for a new testing tool" "What do you think of Optimizely's new test management/collaboration tool?" The former explains my thoughts on the latter. There are some really great platforms out there like Effective Experiments (was genuinely impressed when I got a walkthrough), plus plenty of easy to set up workflows in tools like JIRA, Airtable, etc. - all of which mean that you're in control of your data, regardless of which tools you pick up or drop. Use those.

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What it means to be a Product Director Directors often find themselves in a crucial middle management role, positioned between strategy development and delivery teams, product strategists, executive leadership, and stakeholders. This middle ground can sometimes be unfairly characterized as ineffective or overly controlling. However, in my view, the role of a Director, particularly in Product, Marketing, Communications, and Strategy, is quite the opposite. My Role as a Director As a Director, my primary responsibility is to bridge the gap between teams. My aim is to empower my team members to think creatively about various challenges, whether they pertain to product problems, consumer journeys, or business issues. I work to remove roadblocks by connecting teams and navigating negotiations and trade-offs. An essential part of my role is to occasionally be the person who says, "no," "not now," or "let's revisit that later." This allows my team to focus on achieving their goals without unnecessary distractions. Conversely, there are times when I need to say "yes" because there is a larger business case at play, and it's my job to communicate this to the team to minimize interruptions to ongoing work. My role involves coaching the team on standards and practices as product managers to ensure smooth workflows. Sometimes, it also means stepping into a teaching role. What It Is Not - It is not about creating designs for the team. - It is not about micromanaging. - Sometimes, it means staying out of meetings to avoid inadvertently swaying decisions with my presence, allowing the team to solve problems creatively together. - It is not a platform for personal projects, ego, or empire-building. - It is not about taking over the work led by the team or taking credit for their achievements. Being a Director also involves P&L management, administrative tasks with contractors and vendors, and crafting leadership decks and strategy for mission, competitive advantage, goals, and outcomes. These tasks are achieved through collaboration, consensus-building, and partnerships. While there is a significant amount of thought leadership involved, it is never a solo effort. The Joy of Leadership One of the greatest joys of being a leader is witnessing the growth and development of product managers. Seeing them launch new features, functionalities, or entirely new products that succeed in the market is incredibly rewarding. Highlighting the hard work and achievements of my team members brings me immense satisfaction. Receiving positive consumer feedback and knowing our products or experiences are truly helping people and removing barriers is fulfilling. It brings me joy to see a team come together and thrive creatively. I am grateful for my team, who allow me to lead and collaborate with them. #teamwork #leadership #director #productmanagement #middlemanagement #strategy

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If your main metric for success for design systems is measuring adoption, then consider this: Adoption does not equal value. Value is better communicated by money saving or money generated when it comes to organisations. This can be calculated by time savings for example. Adoption only tells you how much it is being used - without the former you cannot realise the scale of value. #designsystems #design #designmatrics

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Interesting article on rethinking the role of UX Teams. https://lnkd.in/eN7SQHEm #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui

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I'm not supposed to say this, but if you don't hit every bullet point, I still want you to apply. We were worried that if we put that type of statement into the advert, we'd get a flood of under-qualified people, which, you know, I don't want... but I care more about aptitude than hard experience. I didn't have fintech or crypto experience before joining CoinDesk. But I'm the curious type of fellow who loves to learn and will dive deep into research, articles, X/Twitter, etc. When I started my career as a product manager, it was a role I was assigned, not even one I applied for. But I collected hundreds of articles, books, and videos as I learned product management. Now, I'm recognized as an expert in PM. So I don't want someone whose hand I have to hold—I need someone I can delegate to and trust to deliver. But trusting someone to deliver is different from having someone who has built the exact solutions we need. And I also don't want someone who just wants to join us and run a playbook; we need someone who will listen, learn, intuit, innovate, etc. I'm excited to already have a good number of applicants. Still, I want to find the best person, and I also want to meet great product managers who might not fit this role but could be considered for a future role at CoinDesk. So message, comment, and/or apply! https://lnkd.in/giiKCUeP

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Should a Product Owner Offer Technical Advice? from Mike Cohn "Hi Daisy, Your role says you shouldn’t do something, but your experience qualifies you to do it. What should you do? A product owner asked me this recently. He knew that as product owner, he should not tell the team how to do their work. Instead, he should establish a goal, telling the team what he wanted accomplished, but leave it up to them to choose how they achieved it. However, this product owner had significant technical experience. In fact, he’d previously been the team’s tech lead. Not only did he know what he wanted, he knew the best way to develop it. He was torn: should he honor his role by leaving the implementation up to the team or should he offer advice based on his experience in a technical role? I told him he should absolutely advise team members on how to do their work. Building a great product is a team effort. To succeed, team members need to fulfill their own roles but should also transcend those roles, contributing in any way possible. I coach that team members should be able (in fact, encouraged) to suggest new features and product improvements to the product owner. Whether these make it onto the product backlog and into the product remains the product owner’s decision. But team members should be encouraged to think beyond their roles and share their new feature ideas. A product owner who offers guidance based on experience is no different. A product owner, or anyone stepping beyond their role, should only do so when quite confident in the value of their advice. The product owner who asked me this question had recently been the team’s tech lead. I think that qualifies him to share his opinion. As his technical expertise recedes into the past, he should be increasingly reluctant to offer technical guidance to the team. Additionally, it’s important for those in positions of authority—like a product owner—to be clear that they are offering advice, not mandating a solution. Suggestions are generally better, and better received by the team, than mandates. Developing great products is challenging. Team members should be encouraged to share ideas—and advice beyond what may be prescribed by their roles—to succeed with agile."

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It's wild to see how many product teams still "performing activities" rather than realizing business outcomes. And even if you're a PM who feels the need to "perform work" (so that you won't lose your job), helping move forward your business can protect, well, you and your team! Go attend Matt LeMay's webinar tomorrow! On impact-first product work.

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I had a brilliant morning spent with an interesting mix of people who brought their unique experiences and insight into tackling the challenge of testing a new product idea. It helped crystallise a few key points from my own experience. Thanks, Gemma Coles and co! 🚀 𝗡𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘆 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁-𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗙𝗶𝘁 (𝗣𝗠𝗙) 🎯 As a startup founder, achieving PMF efficiently is the #1 priority. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲? Here are a few principles I've found essential to help navigate the early messy phase of finding PMF.: ✅ 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 ‘𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀’  Before embarking on any new initiative or experiment, ensure all stakeholders are crystal clear on the definition of success. What are the key metrics you need to hit? What milestones will unlock further investment? Spell it out. 🚫 𝗡𝗢 𝗚𝗢 As important as defining success is, it’s equally important to clearly define and document what must be true to satisfy that definition. Reality can be distorted to fit the winning narrative if you don't validate these truisms. 💰 𝗗𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 Interviewing potential customers should be done using the lens of: Will this person be willing to pay for the product? How will they pay? Is there a budget to solve this problem already? Would you pay less or more to solve this problem? 🧪 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Run multiple tests simultaneously to gather data while efficiently avoiding confirmation bias. If you have the budget, instruct different teams/agencies/contractors to try to solve the problem in isolation. Be disciplined about cutting failed experiments and doubling down on promising ones. 💡 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴  Continuously communicate learnings, risks, and failures to your team and investors. Building this muscle enables faster, informed decision-making. 🧭 𝗗𝗿𝗮𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗲  Pre-launch, hypothesise how the value (North Star metric) you deliver to your customer impacts revenue (a KPI). If you have paying customers, ensure you prioritise customer needs by your North Star, with the knowledge that it drives your revenue KPI. Check out Itamar Gilad for more. 🔀 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗶𝘃𝗼𝘁 If an experiment fails to yield results, use the 4Ps framework to identify where to pivot—person, product, problem, or promise. Fail fast and be willing to change course based on market feedback. Are you speaking to the right person but trying to solve the wrong problem? Or do you have the right person, product, or problem but are positioning it badly? What principles or tactics have you found most useful in your PMF journey? Let me know in the comments! I've learned this lesson the hard way over my career as a startup product leader and 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 founder. Yes, you read right folks - failed!

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