Moving Up to Product Director
In a course I’m running on moving up the product management organizational ladder, we’ve spent time comparing/contrasting what Product Managers do versus what Directors do.
(I use that title generically for the first-line folks who have HR responsibility for Product Managers. At various companies, they might be called Group Product Managers, Senior Directors, maybe CPOs or VPs or Heads of Product – but my essential distinction is between managing a product and managing a team of people who manage products.)
It’s easy to assume that the next job “up” looks a lot like the job that you’re in. That Directors are (just) super-skilled Product Managers, but working on more complex product challenges. But I see a significant shift toward organizations and people issues, with most of the actual product work delegated to the team.
Directors focus much more on
And therefore Directors have much less time to:
Said another way, Directors spend their energy on empowering Product Managers to get good things done, and less on the product work itself. Removing organizational blockers, identifying systemic issues, resolving conflicts. Creating the conditions for success.
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Do You Want That?
Which raises a series of questions about personal expectations and goals: is that a fit for you? What goes you going in the morning? Does your company respect and support and reward first-line management? Should you want to be a Director?
IMHO, there’s no generic answer. Instead, a need for introspection and the advice of trusted peers. Or (ahem) input from industry veterans. Don’t assume that “up” is always better.
Director roles usually include more money, stock, visibility, organizational leverage, and access to executives. A seat at the table. But they may be unsatisfying for folks who love the daily rough-and-tumble of brilliant maker teams, user joy, tech-meets-problem-meets-ingenuity, roadmap Tetris. They may be better served in senior individual roles like Principal Product Manager or Distinguished PM. (If that’s you, it’s a conversation you should have with your Director.)
Intrigued?
Still room in my July cohort, more info here.
CPO | CTO & Co-founder @ SkyDoc.uz | Growth, analytics, product operations, GenAI
4moA brilliant warming up selling pitch!
VP / Director of Product Management
4moWell articulated and thoroughly summarized, providing a clear and concise overview. The mindshift from being a Product Manager to a Group Product Manager is usually huge and almost no one can see what's coming. It is definitely not a shift for everyone.
Director of Product / Uniting teams to drive growth in scaling tech companies / simonhilton.co
4moI agree with your article Rich Mironov. It is a case of "What got you here won't get you there" from a skills point of view but as you point out this extends to what you day to day looks like and if you enjoy these high leverage tasks. Personally I have always had my mission to "Create great teams that create great products" so it fits me just right. It should also be pointed out that without good people in this role advocating for product by "Building bridges and trust with other functional groups " then PM's can find their jobs much harder to do or regressing back to the feature factory.
Brings the WHY, care deeply about the HOW (He/Him)
4moThis is a great way to frame the issue, thanks Rich!
Product Management made simple(r)!
4moA topical article as I am talking to a product manager I coach about moving forward with the career progression. Thanks! I do agree that when a director type role exists, it becomes very much about people, staffing and processes management for the team rather than the work of product management. However I see the CPO role swing somewhat back in that product vision, Strategy and alignment becomes the key responsibility so that the product teams know what problems they are solving and work accordingly. Maybe an AU and NZ view?