Look Back to Leap Ahead:
4 Provoking Questions

Happy New Year 2024 PMs!

Just a short message to start the year right.

Any Product Leader’s core strength for a Growth mindset is "Metacognition”, aka Self-Awareness. It’s hard because it needs to be consciously intentional. You need to be aware of your successes, your failures, the connections you strengthened, and your Aha moments that will accompany you into 2024!

Trust me, I actually use those 4 thought-provoking questions multiple times a year and it’s done wonders for my growth.

Now let’s dive in.

Today at a glance

• 🧐 Metacognition is the core of your growth

• 4 Thought-provoking Questions to Grow Faster

• Key Takeaways

Recent issues you may have missed

👉️ Build a Winning Product Strategy (Link)
👉️ How Do I Build my Executive Presence as a PM? (Link)
👉️ Get in the head of a PM Hiring Manager (Link)

🧐 Metacognition is the core of your growth

In short, self-awareness is hard. Thinking about and understanding our own thoughts and feelings is called "Metacognition." It helps us know ourselves better and make better decisions which is what we do every day as product managers.

You will notice past patterns on what worked and what did not. Keep this in mind when making decisions.

Now ask yourself those tactical questions:

1- What projects/MVP/features should I have quit earlier?

Annie Duke, a decision science expert, emphasizes the importance of quitting as a skill in product management or startup success. She advocates for setting "kill criteria" to strategically abandon projects that aren't progressing effectively:

Action items

• Develop "kill criteria" for projects, defining benchmarks and timelines for success or failure. Here’s a simple formula:

• Reflect on past projects, identify failures or prolonged endeavors, and use Duke's advice to tactically improve quitting strategies for the upcoming year.

2- Do I know my boss's priorities for the upcoming year? Does my team?

Understanding your boss's priorities is crucial for career success. (outlined in my Promotion Loop framework) It's an ongoing process, and aligning your efforts with your manager's key concerns leads to impactful contributions. For both early and experienced PM career stages, considering your team's impact, communication quality, and feedback reception is vital.

Action items

• Regularly assess and align your work with your boss's key concerns to ensure impactful contributions.

• Create a list of colleagues, identify their biggest needs, and find solutions that align with the overarching product North Stars.

• Ensure high-level visibility of your team's work and be transparent

3- What's the most impactful feedback I received this year? Did I give clear feedback as a manager?

This section emphasizes the importance of seeking and providing impactful feedback for career growth, suggesting specific strategies to attract constructive feedback. Here’s some advice from Arise founder and CEO Shivani Berry to empower teams around you to share more:

Action items