Main takeaways: - Moving to people management in PM begins with defining your end in mind and knowing where you're today. - There are avoidable mistakes and valuable frameworks you can adapt to turn leading a team into a transformational journey for everyone involved. - Embracing difficult conversations, managing poor performance, and leaving your ego outside are not so glamorous parts of being a people manager but are critical to the team's success.

1. www.productschool.com
From Individual Contributor to People
Manager by 15Five Group PM

2. CERTIFICATES
Your Product Management Certificate Path
Product Leadership
Certificate™
Full Stack Product
Management Certificate™
Product Management
Certificate™
20 HOURS40 HOURS40 HOURS

3. Corporate
Training
Level up your team’s Product
Management skills

4. Free Product Management Resources
BOOKS
EVENTS
JOB PORTAL
COMMUNITIES
bit.ly/product_resources
COURSES

6. Moving from Individual Contributor to
People Manager
Life Transitions in Product Management
Product School August 2020

7. KATIA SUCHKOVA
Group Product Manager, 15Five
Product Career Coach
7
10+ years in product management
Enterprise, consumer & B2B startups
Co-founder of e-Commerce startup
Career coaching in product management
Leading PM team at 15Five

8. Known
Unknown
Calling
Transition
Test
Transformation
The Hero’s Journey/Agenda
● Begin with an end in mind
○ PM career ambiguity and tracks
○ IC vs People/Product Leader
○ Reflecting on the “calling”
● Own and plan transition
○ Prepare for tomorrow today

9. VP/CPO/
Founder
People/Product
Leader
Product Manager
Product Manager

10. Path becomes ambiguous
There are no markers
You’re on your own

11. “Crossing the canyon”
Bridging or falling

12. What got you to a basecamp, won’t
get you to the peak you’re aiming for.
So, how do we get to the other side?

13. “If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every
step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster.”
Stephen Covey

14. Choosing your career “track”
Let’s explore two most common career tracks for Product Managers.
Individual Contributor (IC) Leader/People Manager
We all start here
We also get stuck here
We transition here
Many of us don’t cross a canyon
Product Owner
Product Manager
Senior Product Manager
Principal Product Manager
Staff Product Manager
Group Product Manager
Manager, Product Mgmt
Director of Product [Mgmt]
VP of Product [Mgmt]
Chief Product Officer

15. Source: Levels.fyi
PM levels at different companies

16. Group Product Manager
Manager, Product Mgmt
Director of Product [Mgmt]
VP of Product [Mgmt]
Chief Product Officer
We all (almost) aspire to: But we are not aware of this
Product Manager
Individual
Contributor (IC)
Leader
TransitionStatus Quo
Proactive planning, career conversations,
creating and acting on opportunities
Choosing your career “track”

17. Individual
Contributor (IC)
Leader
Focus is on maximizing your own output,
outcomes and performance as an IC
Focus is on maximizing your team’s output,
outcomes and performance
Owning success metrics for a problem area
and contributing to a group of problems’
Defining and owning success metrics for a
group of problems
Depth of work
Lead and influence engineers, designers
Burn silos, create bridges, set up processes,
frameworks, systems,
Follow and/or recommend processes,
frameworks, systems
IC vs People Leader
Owning details of strategy and execution for a
problem area
Owning a strategy, objectives and priorities for
a group of problems
Breadth of work
Lead and influence cross-functional
stakeholders

19. Not all of us have to be People Managers, you define your own success.
For someone - pursuing an IC path for decades brings true satisfaction,
contentement, meaning, and impact they are looking for.
For others - empowering others and seeing them grow and overcome
challenges, getting excited about a team’s outcomes and growth brings a true
meaning.
If all you’re looking for is more exposure to strategic conversations and
decision-making at a higher level - both tracks can satisfy this goal so plan
ahead carefully. Principal and Staff PMs are strategic players, they just don’t
manage others.
Group Product Manager
Manager, Product Mngmt
Reflecting on the “calling”

20. REFLECTION TIME
Why do you want to pursue this path?
What do you need to make it happen?
What’s the next step can you take to get yourself
closer to the goal?

21. Do the homework
Understand a general ladder and tracks
Check out levels.fyi
Is there a PM career path at your org?
Where are you today?

22. Assess your situation
Do you see opportunities?
Can you create any?
Look elsewhere?

23. Career conversation
Make it a priority
Manage up if needed
Set goals and meet 1x/month

24. Mentors & Coaches
Can someone support you?
Do you have role models?
Product School, Mind the Product, Women in
Product, Product Management FB groups

25. Management experience
Don’t fall into a trap
How can you lift someone up?
Opportunities to mentor?
TechStar mentors, #BUILTBYGIRSL, Product
School, Mind the Product, Women in Product

26. Resources
Leadership books
Workshops
Podcasts
Training
“The Making of a Manager”, “Dare to Lead”,
“Radical Candor”, “The Coaching Habit”, “Boyd:
The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War”
Tools of Titans, Masters in Business, Masters of
scale

27. Leader Profile
What qualities inspire you? Why?
What are example of this behavior?
How do they apply to you?

28. Moving from Individual
Contributor to People
Manager & Coach
Be the hero you’re
meant to be. The
journey to be continued…
Thank you.
Product School August 2020

29. www.productschool.com
Part-time Product Management Training Courses
and
Corporate Training