Apply product management skills like roadmapping and stakeholder management not just to a specific offering, but to the organization's strategy and the competitive landscape. This reframe leverages existing strengths for a wider, more strategic scope.
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A product manager is ready for leadership not just by mastering their domain, but by demonstrating three key traits: understanding how all parts of the platform connect, being effective in customer-facing roles (sales, roadmap talks), and proactively building cross-team relationships.
To be truly successful, a product leader cannot just focus on features and users. They must operate as the head of their product's business, with a deep understanding of P&Ls, revenue drivers, and capital allocation. Without this business acumen, they risk fundamentally undercutting their product's potential impact and success.
The core job of a Product Manager is not writing specs or talking to press; it's a leadership role. Success means getting a product to market that wins. This requires influencing engineering, marketing, and sales without any formal authority, making it the ultimate training ground for real leadership.
The traditional product management skillset is no longer sufficient for executive leadership. Aspiring CPOs must develop deep expertise in either the commercial aspects of the business (GTM, revenue) or the technical underpinnings of the product to provide differentiated value at the C-suite level.
When a product team is busy but their impact is minimal or hard to quantify, the root cause is often not poor execution but a lack of clarity in the overarching company strategy. Fixing the high-level strategy provides the focus necessary for product work to create meaningful value.
Don't just tweak last year's product plan. Start from a blank slate by defining business goals first, then allocate resources to the value propositions needed to win. This avoids getting stuck in maintenance mode and forces a focus on strategic priorities.
The CPO's responsibilities have expanded from product roadmaps to key business decisions like go-to-market strategy, partnerships, and defining the company's core focus. This strategic voice is becoming central to the C-suite, sometimes even before a CTO or CMO is hired.
Business model innovation is a third, often-overlooked pillar of success alongside product and go-to-market. A novel business model can unlock better unit economics, align incentives with customers, and dictate the entire product and operational strategy.
The term "product strategy" can create silos, suggesting it's separate from the business's main goals. Instead, frame it as the "product plan" for executing a unified business strategy. This reinforces a "one team" mentality across all departments.
As you move up the product ladder, your strategic time horizon expands. ICs and Directors focus on quarters, VPs on the year, and CPOs must own the 3-5 year vision. Thinking long-term is a core CPO responsibility that no one else in the product organization will own.
