Season 04 - Newsletter 01 —> Athletes, sports teams and turbulent times
Hello Friends -
The newsletter title may be odd for some of us, but the continued news that product managers are still being laid off in 2024 (as recently as last week), coupled with questions from peers triggered a bit of introspection and of the relationship between employers and employees. In that spirit, I thought a better metaphor, that encapsulated the often complex relationship between employer and employees (sic product managers), is that of sports teams, of coaches and athletes. So without further ado, lets dive into the first newsletter of 2024.
Q: With rumors of impending cuts and layoffs in the tech industry what should I do?
That question definitely stirred a bit of emotion from me at first. As someone whose been in that same mental state and part of layoffs, firings and whatever euphemism HR comes up to define the end of receiving a paycheck, I certainly could empathize with how folks who were asking that question, felt.
But depending on whether, you are feeling stressed and in a job, or just recently having been let go, here are a couple of suggestions that have helped me.
You are an athlete on a team. Not a family member. Indeed whenever I have get that question it more often than not means the person asking the question isn’t just worried but surprised as well they are in this situation. And as I look back, it’s clear to me that part of the reason we feel surprise is that we fundamentally misunderstand the relationship we’re in ie employer and employee, and the rules or promises that govern said relationship. While we often encounter the family or partners analogy, the more accurate description is that as employees we are athletes on a sports team. Athletes are asked to sacrifice time with family and other pleasures, asked to dedicate significant time and energy so that they may develop their craft and perform with their team. And for most athletes, if their perceived values doesn’t exceed their costs, the number of seasons with a team will be limited and typically end abruptly. Sound familiar?
What does good look like outside of the four walls of your company. While many of us optimize for local ie optimize our behaviors and output to maximize the return within our current organization unless you believe in lifelong employment, I regularly recommend to folks to look at what other companies are asking of their product managers. One of the best ways to do that is develop a personal network that includes a few Pdm at other companies or interview with said other companies. Very quickly, these interactions will surface what product management areas at your current company have gaps and therefore require to be addressed. Make it a focus in the next quarter.
Portfolio of highlights. Perhaps a vestige of my time in UX, but as each new year approaches and as the year unfurls, I look at which of my initiatives or outcomes are worthy of a portfolio entry. I limit these entries to no more than 5 per year and am deliberate about showing growth in some capacity (skill set, scale, growth vector) from year to year. Sometimes the organization you are with makes that easy, at other times that means you need to volunteer or just do it and ask for forgiveness later. It’s never too late to start this process, and this is how we need to look at opportunities or initiatives. If this year looks very much like last year in terms of items in your portfolio, it’s perhaps the first sign that you a different approach is needed to stave of getting too comfortable.
Ultimately, truly understanding the context we operate within, ( we are athletes on a team and competing year in and year out), understanding what is expected of our role outside of our four walls and being deliberate about not only showing value but growing that value, are keys to not just being retained but continuing the grow regardless of whether the outlook is sunny or stormy.
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