Top product management reads in July

Airbnb’s product management shift: the view from product leaders

Our top read this month is an examination of Airbnb’s decision to morph its product management function into a product marketing function.

Becky Yelland responds to the comments made about Airbnb’s product management function by its CEO, Brian Chesky. She examines the reasons behind the change and garners the views of other product leaders.

She concludes: “It will be interesting to observe what happens to Airbnb with the removal of the business focused function from (now not so) cross-functional teams… Working for a big brand can only hold people for so long, eventually frustration at the lack of empowerment and blurring of the lines of responsibility will likely cause many of those affected to look elsewhere for a more modern and decentralised way of working.”

Read the original article: Airbnb’s product management shift: the view from product leaders

Product operations – the secret to delivering better products faster

This article looks at what product operations is, and at some of the key responsibilities of the function. It examines the value driven by product operations and asks what type of organisation needs a product operations function. Finally it offers a guide to building a product operations team and looks at the risks of not having a product operations function.

As author Srinath Kotela comments: “Focusing on design, product, and analytics, Product Operations can help you promote transparency from execution to strategy, ensuring cross-functional alignment and collaboration.”

Read the original article: Product operations – the secret to delivering better products faster

Unlocking your potential: Strategies to reignite passion for product managers

Phani Vuyyuru’s article aims to help product managers who feel stagnant or disengaged after managing a product for a long period of time. How do you reignite your passion for your work?

He offers up four strategies:

1. Introspect yourself at regular intervals and evaluate your thinking patterns.
2. Assess the product deliverables and roadmap, reprioritise initiatives, and focus on those that align with the strategy and provide the most value to customers.
3. Calibrate against competitors and strive for constant improvement to meet the market demand for your product.
4. Seek feedback from customers, especially the critical ones, to stay current with their evolving needs and preferences.

Read the original article: Unlocking your potential: Strategies to reignite passion for product managers

What I learned from moving to product leadership – Kax Uson on The Product Experience

In this podcast episode  Kax Uson, Head of Product at Adevinta shares her story of moving from an individual contributor role into product leadership role. She talks about the key lessons she has learned along the way.

Adevinta builds marketplaces all over Europe under various brand names. Kax tells how she became a product leader when her manager went on maternity leave, leaving her as the most senior person in the room. She talks about how her expectations and the expectations of those around her changed when she became a leader, and how she found it difficult to switch from an IC role to actually leading a team.

Listen to the podcast episode here: What I learned from moving to product leadership – Kax Uson on The Product Experience

Don’t do free work in your next interview

In this article Todd Lewandowski challenges the common practice of asking job candidates to do free work, saying: “One crappy behavior I’ve seen is asking candidates for free work. It’s rarely direct. Instead, interviewers will subtly phrase a question to get free ideas on a real problem they are working on.”

He takes us through some common scenarios that should help candidates identify when they’re being asked to do free work and offers some suggestions to interviewers on how to phrase their questions better so that they don’t ask for it.

He sums up by saying: “First, don’t be afraid to speak up when it happens to you. Tell the interviewer about it. Email the recruiter later. Complain on Glassdoor. Awareness is the first step in problem resolution.

“Second, pose an alternative or walk away. Most people will apologize and back off. Forgive them and continue. Those who press the issue aren’t people you want to work with anyway. Vote with your feet and walk away.”

The original article is here: Don’t do free work in your next interview