The Toronto Product Management Association kickstarted the season with their first fall event taking place on the evening of September 26th. This engaging panel discussion focused on the journey from senior product management roles to chief product officers (CPOs) and featured insights from three accomplished product leaders:

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Jenya Farris, VP of Product at Routific

Puneet Mulchandani, Senior Director of Product at Stack Overflow

Ann Tebo, Head of Ampli & Digital Experiences for Avion Rewards, RBC

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Full Event Recording:

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This discussion offered invaluable perspectives on personal and professional growth in the field of product management, as well as strategies for effective leadership collaboration. Here are the key takeaways from these brilliant product leaders:

Why Should You Consider Advancing Your Product Leadership Career?

          · Broaden the ability to drive impactful change

          · Have a bigger role in building strategic vision

          · Empower people and teams to solve meaningful problems

          · Scale your impact within the organization

Evaluating Potential Employers as a Product Leader

          · Understand the company's mission and strategic direction

          · Assess its revenue and financial position

          · Gauge its receptiveness to problem exploration and implementing new ideas

          · Seek opportunities for a partnership rather than a traditional employee role

          · Evaluate your potential to make a significant impact

          · Ask yourself if you are 1. Suited to solve this problem and 2. Want to solve this problem

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Crafting Your First 60 Days

          · Immerse yourself in the company's culture and ecosystem

          · Identify areas where you can bring value

          · Foster trust and build essential relationships

          · Conduct listening tours to thoroughly understand stakeholder pain points

          · Develop a shared vocabulary and context with your colleagues

          · Explore the problem landscape and align on potential solutions

          · Assess organizational strengths and potential areas of improvement

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Collaborating with Technical Teams

          · View technical teams as core partners in strategy development

          · Ensure alignment between product and tech strategies

          · Define relationships between technical investments and product goals

          · Listen actively to technical insights and understand technical debt

          · Translate technical obstacles and strategy into business cases to facilitate cross-functional alignment

          · Prioritize regular communication with tech teams

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Navigating Misalignment

          · Take a step back to reevaluate and understand the common goals

          · Assume positive intent when addressing misalignment

          · Leverage user testing and data-driven decisions to solve problems

          · Embrace a curiosity mindset

          · Nurture a culture that allows for mistakes

          · Recognize that misalignment is a by-product of diversity and if handled constructively, can be an asset

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As a product leader, what do you look for when hiring product managers?

          · Assess past experiences and the impact achieved

          · Evaluate cultural fit within the organization

          · Consider the ability to ask the right questions

          · Examine the ability to make decisions

          · Gauge emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills

          · Prioritize candidates who demonstrate reflective learning and the capacity to build upon previous experiences

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The journey from senior product manager to chief product officer is an adventure, filled with opportunities for growth, leadership, and impact. The discussions shared by our panel of product leaders highlight the importance of personal and professional development. All in all, this was an incredible discussion. A huge thank you goes to the speakers for sharing their invaluable perspectives and learnings with the community.