Good Product Leader/Bad Product Leader

Good PM/Bad PM but for product leaders.

If you have ever reported to me, you likely know how much I love Ben Horowitz's seminal article Good Product Manager/Bad Product Manager. I re-read it at least once yearly. It's also no secret that I find it very foolish bold when someone tries to “re-write” the article with a modern take. Yes, it's old, and not all make sense (PM is the CEO of the product? Come on…), but this is like trying to rewrite Shakespeare. Just don't do it. It's unnecessary, and people will think you are a pretentious dork for trying.

Alas, here I am, writing my take on the famous article, but with a spin on product leaders. You can call me a pretentious dork.

A good product leader builds a product strategy for how to win based on a deep understanding of the market, the customers/users, the product, and the competition. Bad product leaders have a laundry list of projects and features to deliver.

Good product leaders evangelize the vision and strategy in written and spoken form. They ensure everyone understands the direction and the reasons behind it. They passionately advocate for the product and inspire others to share that enthusiasm. Bad product leaders complain that people are not aligned. They don’t take a written stance on the strategy.

Good product leaders focus the organization on the key challenges while also being clear about what not to focus on. A bad product leader complains that the competition is launching features faster and pressures teams to copy them. Bad product leaders have financial goals but no strategy for which levers to pull to achieve them.

Good product leaders delegate clear problems and objectives to development teams. Bad product leaders assign features to be built, then complain those features didn't reach the expected goals. A good product leader gives the team room and resources to tackle the delegated problems/objectives. Bad product leaders spread resources thinly to try to achieve everything, which results in not achieving anything. They complain about goals not being achieved but don’t give the team the room or responsibility to figure out how to achieve them.

Source: Henrik Kniberg

Good product leaders care deeply about developing their people, both through mentoring and coaching. They can mentor because they’ve done the work. Bad product leaders are like consultants. They talk a good game but lack the practical experience and depth of knowledge. Good product leaders provide relevant, actionable advice that helps to unblock their PMs. Bad product leaders’ advice feels disconnected from the realities their PMs face.

Good product leaders give frequent and specific feedback with examples, both constructive and reinforcing. They don’t shy away from difficult conversations. Bad product leaders give unspecific, fluffy, and/or un-actionable feedback. They either focus only on the good to avoid awkward conversations or only on the bad, sapping motivation. They think of feedback only during performance assessment season.

Good product leaders praise and recognize their team's hard work and results. They give credit for successes, take ownership of failings, and ensure lessons are learned and shared. Bad product leaders take credit for successes and look for people to blame for failures. A good product leader advocates for their people, shining a light on strong performers. A bad product leader is afraid to lose their position to high-performers. Bad product leaders are in it for themselves and their careers, not their reports.

Good product leaders role model the culture they want to create. They know that every word, decision, action, or inaction builds culture, and they do so consciously. Bad product leaders complain about the culture and the people. They are unaware of how their behavior impacts culture. A good product leader fosters a culture of openness and collaboration. Bad product leaders build a culture of fear and competition.

Good product leaders proactively promote and give monetary rewards to those performing well. Bad product leaders only consider rewards when a valuable PM offers their resignation letter.

Good product leaders know when to step in and when to step out. They balance being involved and giving their team the space to work independently. They are present and supportive but avoid micromanaging. Bad product leaders are too deep in the weeds or too aloof. They either micromanage every detail or are so hands-off that they are out of touch with the team's progress and challenges.

Good product leaders are comfortable delegating decisions to people closer to the problem. Bad product leaders insert themselves into every tiny decision and meeting, not trusting anyone to make the right call. Good product leaders are on the lookout for how to unblock and support the team. Bad product leaders don’t know how to help and often hinder the team’s progress.

Good product leaders serve customers in ways that work for the business. Bad product leaders either fight the “idiots” from the business or are subservient to the business, not as partners but as waiters taking orders.

Good product leaders protect the team from organizational bullshit. They shield their team from unnecessary bureaucracy and political distractions. Bad product leaders are like a shit fan. They make unrealistic delivery commitments without talking to the team first.

In the unlikely event you are paying attention, this post is about a week late. I debated whether I should do it, but I also didn’t have a better topic. Would you help me? Send me a message with what product leadership topics you would like to hear more about: