Building a Leadership Culture in Product Teams: What Real Leaders Do

In product management and design, leadership isn’t just about holding a title or managing people. True leadership lies in fostering a culture where everyone feels empowered to take initiative, drive innovation, and make decisions that propel the team forward. Inspired by the ideas presented in the Harvard Business Review article "What Leaders Really Do," let’s explore the essentials of building a leadership culture, especially within product teams, and why spotting, nurturing, and challenging potential leaders is crucial for long-term success.

1. Spotting and Hiring Leadership Potential in Product Teams

Leadership begins long before someone assumes a formal role or title. It starts with identifying individuals who show a natural inclination for leading, whether they’re product managers, designers, or other contributors. These are the people who think strategically, are willing to take ownership, and inspire others to move in the right direction.

What to Look For:

• Vision and Initiative: Look for product professionals who don’t just execute tasks but also proactively identify opportunities, propose solutions, and rally others around their ideas.

• Empathy and Listening Skills: Great product leaders listen deeply to user needs, team concerns, and feedback from cross-functional partners.

• Collaborative Spirit: They have a knack for building relationships and working effectively across various teams, including engineering, marketing, and customer success.

When hiring, don’t just evaluate candidates on their technical or design skills. Ask questions that reveal their ability to lead, influence, and adapt. You want people who demonstrate leadership traits early on, even before they hold the title.

2. Managing Career Paths with a Leadership Focus

Once you’ve hired individuals with leadership potential, it’s essential to manage their career paths with growth and leadership development in mind. Often, product managers and designers are laser-focused on honing their core skills, but leaders need to broaden their horizons.

Steps to Develop Product Leaders:

• Expose Them to Different Roles: Encourage designers to get involved in product strategy or let product managers shadow design critiques. This exposure not only broadens their skill set but also helps them develop a deeper appreciation for other functions.

• Provide Clear Pathways: Outline what it takes to progress from an individual contributor to a leadership role, whether it’s taking on more complex projects, leading cross-functional initiatives, or mentoring junior team members.

• Encourage Lateral Growth: Leadership isn’t just about moving up; sometimes, it’s about moving sideways. Allow team members to explore roles that build complementary skills, such as moving from product design to UX research or from product management to customer success for a period.

By managing career paths with an emphasis on growth, you create an environment where potential leaders feel supported and motivated to step into more significant responsibilities.

3. Encouraging Growth Beyond Core Skills

True leadership requires a blend of hard and soft skills. For product managers and designers to grow into influential leaders, they need opportunities to develop beyond their core competencies.

Ways to Encourage Growth:

• Invest in Training: Offer workshops, courses, and conferences that help develop skills like storytelling, negotiation, and strategic thinking—skills that are essential for product leadership but may not be part of their formal education.

• Create Peer Learning Opportunities: Encourage product managers and designers to share knowledge and best practices. This not only builds a culture of continuous learning but also reinforces the idea that everyone has something valuable to contribute.

• Promote Experimentation: Create a safe environment where team members can experiment with new ideas, fail, learn, and iterate. This fosters resilience and problem-solving skills—key traits of strong leaders.

By investing in growth opportunities beyond core skills, you’re preparing your team to tackle more complex challenges and lead effectively, even in uncertain situations.

4. Identifying Challenging Growth Opportunities

One of the most impactful ways to develop leadership skills is through hands-on experience. This means providing product managers and designers with challenging growth opportunities that push them out of their comfort zones.

Strategies for Identifying Growth Opportunities:

• Assign Stretch Projects: Give team members projects that require them to think strategically, collaborate with different departments, or manage more significant responsibilities than they’re used to. For example, a designer might lead a cross-functional sprint, or a product manager could own an end-to-end product launch.

• Rotate Responsibilities: Allow product professionals to take on roles outside their usual scope, such as running a team meeting, presenting to stakeholders, or leading a research initiative.

• Encourage Problem-Solving in Ambiguous Situations: Real leadership is often revealed in times of uncertainty. Encourage your team to tackle ambiguous challenges, make decisions with incomplete information, and navigate complex trade-offs.

These challenging assignments provide a fertile ground for budding leaders to hone their skills, learn from mistakes, and build the confidence needed to step into more significant roles.

5. Creating a Culture That Embraces Leadership at All Levels

Leadership isn’t about hierarchy; it’s a mindset. For a product team to thrive, everyone should feel empowered to lead, regardless of their title. When product designers and managers believe their voices matter and their ideas can drive change, they’re more likely to take initiative and inspire others.

Ways to Foster a Leadership Culture:

• Encourage Ownership: Give team members the autonomy to make decisions and own their projects. When people feel trusted, they’re more likely to take on a leadership role.

• Recognize and Celebrate Leadership Behaviors: Celebrate instances where team members show leadership, whether it’s taking the lead in a meeting, mentoring a colleague, or solving a complex problem.

• Provide Regular Feedback: Constructive feedback helps team members understand where they excel and where they can improve. It’s an essential part of nurturing leadership qualities and helping individuals grow.

The Impact of a Leadership Culture in Product Teams

By focusing on spotting and hiring people with leadership potential, managing their career paths, encouraging growth beyond their core skills, and providing challenging opportunities, you build a culture where leadership flourishes. This culture doesn’t just benefit individuals; it elevates the entire product organization.

Product teams that embrace a leadership mindset are more innovative, adaptable, and resilient. They’re better equipped to handle the complexities of product development, navigate shifting priorities, and drive products that truly meet user needs.

As product leaders, it’s our job to create an environment where leadership isn’t just a role but a shared responsibility. By doing so, we ensure that our teams are not only prepared for today’s challenges but are also ready to lead us into the future.