Empowering Product Leadership: Candid Conversation with Kirsten

Today, I had the pleasure of conversing with Kirsten Van Detta, a distinguished former product leader at LinkedIn and a remarkable colleague during our tenure there. Kirsten's journey is marked by a rich tapestry of experiences, from pioneering B2B SaaS products to mentoring aspiring product managers. However, her path began uniquely, as an educator for special needs community. Now, she embarks on a new venture as the co-founder of Destomatic, bringing her diverse background and expertise to the forefront of innovation.

Spotify Episode Link

Venturing into Product Management - 

Kirsten possesses a remarkable superpower: empathy. Her innate ability to understand people's needs has been a driving force throughout her career. Combined with her deep fascination with technology, this empathy led her to excel in product management. Kirsten's creative mindset, coupled with her exceptional listening skills and insatiable curiosity, sets her apart as a product manager who consistently delivers innovative solutions to user problems.

Common pitfalls of Product Managers:

Product Management embodies entrepreneurship at its core, characterized by substantial ambiguity. To navigate this landscape effectively, Product Managers must prioritize cultivating a Product Mindset rather than solely adhering to frameworks. This entails focusing on delivering value to the business through the creation of market-fit products. By integrating a product mindset with elements such as experimentation and business acumen, Product Managers can seamlessly adapt to various methodologies, whether Agile, Kanban, or Scrum. Key considerations include understanding how to develop offerings that are both viable for the business and valuable for users, comprehending the intricacies of the company's operations, metrics, and objectives (such as OKRs), and establishing effective experimentation teams.

Product Mindset is empathizing with your users and customers and finding real problems to solve.

Transitioning to Leadership:

Kirsten's leadership journey began at a startup, initially as a Product Manager. Despite lacking a formal title, she led the team, wearing multiple hats and fostering collaboration. Expanding the team to include UX and Associate Product Managers, Kirsten emphasized collective value creation and a culture of collaboration over product egos. Rather than prescribing solutions, she empowered her team to navigate challenges independently. Her transition to co-founding a new venture stems from a desire to apply her expertise in building market-fit products and indulge in entrepreneurial innovation.

Communication skills for Product Manager:

Storytelling is an essential skill regardless of the role you are in, which starts from a point of empathy. Product Managers can move the needle not just with data or their opinion but by packaging the information in a beautiful story that connects with the audience objectives so a connection is made. Audience, be it stakeholders or users, cares about what you’re doing for them and not what you’re doing.

Know your audience, focus on what are they trying to get out of this interaction with you and not on what you want to tell them.

AI + Product Management:

AI serves as a productivity enhancer for Product Managers, aiding in information condensation for clarity and assisting in storytelling. However, it cannot replace the critical thinking abilities of Product Managers. It should not be used as a substitute, as AI lacks human skills and merely generates content based on inserted prompts. Product Managers must lead with empathy, user understanding, creativity, curiosity, continuous learning, and business acumen to effectively leverage AI tools.

Take the help of AI to enhance your productivity, don’t replace yourself with it

Parting advice for young professionals:

Invest time in nurturing stronger relationships. While climbing the career ladder and achieving milestones are crucial, prioritize building connections with your team, partners, and stakeholders. Remember, the most valuable aspect of your journey is the relationships you cultivate along the way.

It’s easy to get lost in the climb and it takes a while to realize the most important thing is the relationships.

Additionally, don't hesitate to "Speak Up" and assert yourself when necessary, but always in a respectful and professional manner. Women, in particular, may find it challenging to voice their opinions confidently, often analyzing issues from multiple angles. However, it's essential not to shy away from expressing your views, especially if supported by evidence. Preparation is key—anticipate potential scenarios and come armed with thorough notes and evidence to bolster your confidence in meetings.

When it comes down to meetings, be prepared to speak up, have the supporting evidence ready so you are confident.

Resources :

Product Management Coaching by Kirsten: Advance with Confidence in Product Management

The Halo Effect by Phil Rosenzweig - Helps you develop a healthy level of skepticism around what makes companies successful. Phil teaches you all the ways people delude themselves into believing every guru, consultant, or rocketship CEO on how success is achieved so you can spot them yourself and avoid these traps.

Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss - Product management is not about compromise but it does require a lot of negotiation. Chris Voss helps you understand how important emotional intelligence and empathy are in any negotiation, essential skills and traits for product managers. 

Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull - Great storytelling. Loved the audiobook. Ed shares how to build cultures that include things like candor and psychological safety to enable cultures of creativity and innovation.

The Art of Clear Thinking: A Stealth Fighter Pilot's Timeless Rules for Making Tough Decisions by Hasard Lee - Based on a career of making high-stakes, split-second decisions as an elite U.S. fighter pilot, The Art of Clear Thinking teaches listeners how to make better decisions in everyday life.

Transformed: Moving to the Product Operating Model by Marty Cagan - Help transform your business and innovate like the world's top tech companies!