I like this Yue. I’ve seen a lot of emerging leaders lean more into technical rather than leadership skills. I always thought it was similar to the “what got you here won’t get you there” with future leaders leaning more on what was … understandable and familiar.
After reading your post it made me think that it’s also easy feedback to give about poor leadership. “They’re not quite leading … they mustn’t have the technical skills”.
I think learning leadership skills is often harder than technical … so like you, think we should lean in more .. not mask it with more tech skills.
Most of the time these unhelpful vague feedback were given by people who don't exactly know what they complain about, nor they have the skills themselves. I have never heard an engineer say a PM/designer/Marketer is not technical enough, for example.
As a team, I do think each role should try to understand another role's common language and basic principles in each other's work. However, it's not necessary to acquire that skills yourself (unless you are really interested, ofc) At the end of the day, we work as a team and supplement each other's skills, don't we?
I can’t articulate how much I needed to hear this. Currently a senior PM in a non-tech company. Started an AI-powered digital platform that teaches young students personal finance skills. I don’t have an engineering background and used no-code tools.
However, when looking to grow my career, I feel that my lack of traditional engineering experience is hindering. Perhaps, to your point in the article, I’m focusing on the wrong thing. Please continue diving deeper into this topic. Very helpful.
Amazing post! I loved how you used real examples (and how people tackled them with your guidance) to highlight genuine opportunities for career progression.
I wanted to get your thoughts on a common piece of feedback: “You’re not strategic enough.” This is the top challenge I discuss with my PM mentees, particularly in the context of struggling to climb the corporate ladder. After reading your post, I’d love to hear your perspective and learn how to refine my approach to this topic.
Thanks again for sharing such valuable insights! And if I may, I recently started my journey as a creator in Product Management and Leadership content late last year. I’d be thrilled if you’d consider checking out my newsletter - I’d greatly value your thoughts and support!
Yes. And holding one's own in technical conversations is respected by technical people.
So the advice I would give to someone who feels like they need to brush up technically is to get better at contributing to technical conversations by demonstrating a knowledge of fundamentals that can be learned without diving into code.
I like this Yue. I’ve seen a lot of emerging leaders lean more into technical rather than leadership skills. I always thought it was similar to the “what got you here won’t get you there” with future leaders leaning more on what was … understandable and familiar.
After reading your post it made me think that it’s also easy feedback to give about poor leadership. “They’re not quite leading … they mustn’t have the technical skills”.
I think learning leadership skills is often harder than technical … so like you, think we should lean in more .. not mask it with more tech skills.
Thank you for the thoughtful post
I cannot agree more !
Most of the time these unhelpful vague feedback were given by people who don't exactly know what they complain about, nor they have the skills themselves. I have never heard an engineer say a PM/designer/Marketer is not technical enough, for example.
As a team, I do think each role should try to understand another role's common language and basic principles in each other's work. However, it's not necessary to acquire that skills yourself (unless you are really interested, ofc) At the end of the day, we work as a team and supplement each other's skills, don't we?
I can’t articulate how much I needed to hear this. Currently a senior PM in a non-tech company. Started an AI-powered digital platform that teaches young students personal finance skills. I don’t have an engineering background and used no-code tools.
However, when looking to grow my career, I feel that my lack of traditional engineering experience is hindering. Perhaps, to your point in the article, I’m focusing on the wrong thing. Please continue diving deeper into this topic. Very helpful.
Amazing post! I loved how you used real examples (and how people tackled them with your guidance) to highlight genuine opportunities for career progression.
I wanted to get your thoughts on a common piece of feedback: “You’re not strategic enough.” This is the top challenge I discuss with my PM mentees, particularly in the context of struggling to climb the corporate ladder. After reading your post, I’d love to hear your perspective and learn how to refine my approach to this topic.
Thanks again for sharing such valuable insights! And if I may, I recently started my journey as a creator in Product Management and Leadership content late last year. I’d be thrilled if you’d consider checking out my newsletter - I’d greatly value your thoughts and support!
https://thehardknocksofproduct.substack.com/
Yes! "you're not strategic enough" is also top of the list of "unhelpful vague feedback".
Yes. And holding one's own in technical conversations is respected by technical people.
So the advice I would give to someone who feels like they need to brush up technically is to get better at contributing to technical conversations by demonstrating a knowledge of fundamentals that can be learned without diving into code.