Being a product leader can be an isolating role and at the beginning of this year, I started to think about ways to support product leaders. I wanted to bring product leaders together to show that one point rings true across the board: no one has it all figured out. The undefined nature of the PM role is part of the process. It’s likely that you’ll never find “the way”, so being able to work through uncertainty is the name of the game. I wanted to create a space for product leaders to share their challenges, learn from each other and feel less isolated and more supported.

Keji Mustapha– Head of Network and Brand at Connect Ventures–a VC firm that is singularly focused on founders who are obsessed with innovating and solving hard problems at scale, “Where Product Founders Fit”, held a conversation with our founder, Gillian Davis, surrounding the importance of implementing a generalist strategy for team building and first-time founders. Keji seeks to add value to her investment companies, growing their capabilities far beyond those they had when they arrived, while at the same time connecting founders to one another to create a community of growth.

Today, we’re seeing uncertainty not only in tech but in our daily lives with the changes brought on by COVID. When we think about leadership in uncertainty, the need to adapt stands out. Leaders don’t react, they respond - with a considered choice. 2020 has reinforced that anything can happen, and when it does, leaders have to do what’s best, even if it means letting their plans go.

Product leaders don’t get enough credit. They carry a lot of responsibility within an organization but are often left by the wayside, or their role isn’t fully understood, creating tension. Organizations need strong product leaders to pull together their product and engineering teams and non-technical stakeholders. Don’t believe me, listen to my interview with Seb Saboune, Head of Product at Founders Factory.

As a coach, Phil knew his role was to build a well-rounded team that highlighted the strengths of each player. For the Bulls, it had to start with Michael. Phil couldn’t tone Michael down or bring the team to Michael’s level. But he could get Michael to become a leader on the team.

It’s time for a break. A big one. I often have to help my clients figure out how to have an actual holiday where they’re able to switch off. Now more than ever, it’s imperative that we ALL take time fully away from our busy schedules. That includes checking emails, “5 minute” calls, and peeking at Slack.

If you want to ensure you show up for your team to see them through this time of uncertainty make sure you reflect on what they need from you, not what you think they need from you.

As we adapt to a remote workforce and uncertain times, knowing how and when to take control is difficult and the value of showing empathy and compassion for our teams is clearer than ever. In order to move forward, we need to look at the leadership pendulum.

A successful world-class team comes with a lot of challenges, and building one which brings you international success depends heavily on the relationship between those in charge and those doing the work. No matter one's role in the team, everyone is vital for the overall success of the group, and when you work together - you triumph.

In my opinion, in its simplest form coaches help you to achieve results. They not only help you get really clear on what your goals are and why they matter, they see things you don’t see and are there to put a mirror up to your blind spots. Sound scary? If you’re not ready to face some truths about who you are and what gets in the way, coaching might not be right for you. As a client, you have to be willing and ready to do the work.

In recent years it’s been hard not to notice the increasing demand and supply of coaches! Having an executive coach for CEO's and management teams is not unheard of in the corporate space, so it is no surprise that this has now caught on within the start-up environment, as running a challenger business comes with a lot of pressure, speed and growth.

Unless you are able to totally re-haul your schedule, default behaviors and mindset, creating change can get pushed aside by our routines, regardless if they are serving us. We often fail to start by setting ourselves up for changes that are too radical or uncomfortable, and hence we fall back into our comfort zones by springtime.

Why is engagement such a point of discussion? Well, Gallup tells us that companies with higher engagement outperform their competitors by as much as 202%! This is not something to be ignored.

If your team engagement has started out on the low-side this year, I want to caution that before you jump into a massive and expensive 'engagement campaign', to just start with the basics.

The transition from friend to a manager is likely one of the hardest transitions to make during our careers. Therefore it has to be done intentionally it is not just going to ‘happen’ to ensure you can strike the balance between becoming a great boss and maintain a friendship.

I will never forget my first few months as a new manager, I had lots of changes to make but was not clear as to how to go about implementing it. I kept going to my manager to check if I could do literately anything (as if they knew what was right for my team)! At the same time I was reading up on everything I could find on the subject, trying to get tips, strategies, toolkits, anything, to support me. Thank goodness Medium wasn’t available at the time! In retrospect, I never really found what I was looking for because what I was really seeking was permission or the blue print to get my team to come with me.

When I spoke to Nafisa Bakkar on the OverTime podcast she reflected on that moment she realised she needed to ‘level-up’ her leadership. In her case, she and her co-founder (her sister) had just raised their first round of funding, and wanted to ensure she used other people’s money in the right way. After facing a lot of key decisions as a new team working within a new company, it was apparent to her that she had to start taking the role of CEO as everyone was looking to her to lead.

For those managers that are struggling to make great hires, don’t be hard on yourself. It’s a skill and like with any skill it takes time and practice in order to find your way. It is unlikely that you have had any training on Hiring or a ton of experience so do the best with what you know. Be sure to reach out to support from your managers, HR team, mentors, experts. You will be surprised how many people get a lot from sharing their best practices on what they are passionate about.

Just because someone has been doing something for a long time this doesn’t mean he or she does it in the way you would like them to. Quality standards, approaches, even ethics, will vary by organization and it is imperative you train your senior hires quickly on your company’s ways of working. This will require patience and persistence, for in some cases you may have to ‘untrain’ and ‘retrain’ some of the fundamentals.