The benefits of promoting from within are numerous. It’s more efficient in terms of the hiring process and often translates to better retention rates. For junior team members, watching their peers rise to positions of leadership can inspire and guide their own professional growth, enhancing company culture and cohesion between team members.
For those junior employees looking for guidance, managers can help identify future goals and help develop plans for success. That was certainly the case for Ira Patnaik, who found that working with senior leadership at Ro enhanced her participation in the growth of the company. That collaboration gave her the opportunity to hone her strengths and goals, and advocate for future leaders to do the same. “Experienced managers can give you expert advice on what different avenues of growth could look like and how to get there,” she said.
But even with goals and a roadmap in mind, how do those junior employees work toward leadership positions? Considering how quickly the tech space evolves, Squarespace’s product design director, Katherine Robinson, noted a key characteristic of future leaders: consistency. “The action of showing up and continuing to approach challenges with sincere attention is such an important skill in the tech space, where the dynamics of our industry are constantly shifting,” she said.
Much as professional goals will vary, advice on how to advance one’s career will also vary between organizations and teams. These three product leaders shared their personal growth trajectories and the self-promotion strategies they learned along the way.
Tell us about your career trajectory at Ro. Where did you start, when did you get promoted into a leadership role and what did you do to get there?
In 2019, I joined Ro as a director of product for the product growth team. I now sit as a senior director of product, where I’m responsible for strategy and team vision for our consumer product initiatives.
As Ro has continued to grow, and as we dove deeper into potential improvements to the patient experience, I began working closely with senior leadership to define the vision for expanding our team. One of my biggest periods of growth at Ro was proposing this new direction, hiring for these teams and then effectively managing them. I was given a lot of autonomy to evolve the scope of our team and design a structure that would enable us to build an even better end-to-end patient experience and to solve problems more effectively.
Growth at Ro — at least for my own personal journey — required building trust and strong relationships across the organization, rolling up my sleeves, and hiring and developing an amazing team to support the vision I had for the future.
It’s really important to develop an understanding of what professional growth means to you.”
What surprised you most about your new leadership role?
I was surprised by how little was different. Relationships are still important, and being ready to roll up my sleeves is still critical for our stage of growth. In retrospect, this shouldn’t have been so surprising because we promote people when they’ve already demonstrated evidence of being able to operate successfully at the next level.
One major shift, however, was a more urgent expectation to delegate more to my team as it grows. I’ve grown the team by 50 percent since my promotion, and I’ve taken a step back from the day-to-day of several high-priority initiatives. Instead, I now focus on coaching my direct reports as they build out their career frameworks and take on more ownership. It has been very rewarding to see them stretch into bigger responsibilities.
What advice do you have for product professionals looking to move into a leadership role?
First, it’s really important to develop an understanding of what professional growth means to you. It’s okay to not know yet, but make sure you are talking it through with your manager on a regular basis. Without an open dialogue, your manager could make assumptions about your interests and goals based on their own experiences or the more traditional paths they’ve seen others take. Experienced managers can give you expert advice on what different avenues of growth could look like and how to get there.
The most direct way to understand what it takes to get promoted is to have an honest conversation with your manager about the gaps between where you are now and the next level, and then work with them on a plan to get there. Great managers are your strongest advocates — you should feel empowered to work with them on how you can best grow in the organization based on your career goals and business needs as new opportunities arise.
Tell us about your career trajectory at Gooten. Where did you start, when did you get promoted into a leadership role and what did you do to get there?
I started at Gooten as the director of product for the supply chain team during the peak season of 2020. I can tell you that there’s no better way to learn as much as you can about a company than during its busiest and most hectic time of the year. Prior to joining Gooten, my experiences have mainly been working with large enterprises designing and building supply-chain technology and analytics.
I was never in a formal product role until I joined Gooten. On top of trying to learn about the business and lend a helping hand during times of crisis, I had to brush up on product management best practices and Agile methodology. In the first two weeks, I was hit hard with imposter syndrome and almost puked multiple times.
I decided to lean into my strengths and weaknesses and to take things one step at a time. The team at Gooten was amazing and helped guide me through their practices and methodologies. I soon realized that I was able to correlate a lot of the concepts and practices with my past experiences. From there I was able to leverage my strengths, create a product vision for the supply chain team and influence the company roadmap.
What surprised you most about your new leadership role?
What really surprised me in this new role is that I now have to juggle and prioritize all the various aspects of building, maintaining and supporting our awesome products. However, this is where Gooten’s particular delivery organizational structure can create an advantage over siloed functions — all the amazing teams are aligned to a single mission and vision. This enhances communication naturally because the team can work together without external competing priorities. This in turn allows us to iterate faster and ensure that we are driving overall company goals, not just departmental ones.
I decided to lean into my strengths and weaknesses and to take things one step at a time.”
What advice do you have for product professionals looking to move into a leadership role?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions and challenge the status quo. It’s important to listen and fully understand the what and why. Don’t be afraid to present bold ideas, backed up with your research and data. Introducing change into an organization can be challenging, especially when people are used to doing something a certain way. Make sure that you can crystalize your vision and communicate it simply, and you bring folks along for the ride. One of the key skills that I rely on and have honed over the years is the ability to empathize with my stakeholders, and articulate the problem and pain points that they experience. This is a key ingredient in formulating the product vision and what the roadmap looks like to get there.
Tell us about your career trajectory at Squarespace. Where did you start, when did you get promoted into a leadership role and what did you do to get there?
I came into Squarespace as a product design manager of growth in 2018. I had previously worked at a digital agency, which I really credit for advancing my strategic thinking when approaching the evolution of a digital product and what a digital transformation looks like across industries. Coming in-house to Squarespace was a compelling challenge for me, where I could focus on one product experience and grow a team of product designers.
Over time, I have taken the team from one product designer to thirteen product designers — and growing! — who collaborate with our incredible, thoughtful partners in content strategy, research, design program management and design systems. That amount of team growth is reflected in the wide reach we have in terms of the experiences we design and iterate on each day. Growth at Squarespace is not just limited to boosting conversion rates, but rather thinking holistically about the entire end-to-end journey.
Reflecting on this, I believe that my path through leadership has been accepting change and throughout that change, continuing to build trusting relationships with my partners. I do not see silos or rank when I work.
Leadership is not just about setting an example through action, but also about creating a stimulating environment that engages each member of the team.”
What surprised you most about your new leadership role?
Moving into a director role has been such an honor, and I could not be more proud of the team that I get to work with each day. A surprising realization that I have had in the past is how my understanding of design has become much more multifaceted. Not only do I design a product experience for our existing and prospective users, but I also design the employee experience. As such, I put a lot of intention and thought into our rituals, conversations and times together. I have realized that leadership is not just about setting an example through action, but also about creating a stimulating environment that engages each member of the team.
What advice do you have for product professionals looking to move into a leadership role?
I believe one can demonstrate leadership at any level or in any role. Whether you are looking to move into a new role or not, I like to think that leadership is all about being proactive and thorough in your work. Consistency is key. If you're able to display a pattern of quality and commitment, then you will stand out for your reliability and be recruited to tackle newer, harder challenges.
My second piece of advice is to invest in your relationships, no matter what. This is true for your peers as much as it is for your direct reports. In my experience, kindness, sincerity and empathy go a long way. Ensuring that your partners and team know they can count on you to continue to show up and be part of the conversation as much as you count on them for their contributions and participation should be a top priority.
