A mental model to build a strong product organization
Have you ever worked on a high-performing team? Have you experienced the joy of working in a flow with other people and delivering great results? Companies and their leaders dream about this state when describing their teams, but they rarely know how to support them to achieve high performance.
While working in various performing, low-performing, and high-performing teams, I observed many patterns, which I translated into a model I use to set up my teams for success.
Disclaimer: What I describe in this article is not a one-week project. It takes time, and it is a tough journey full of roadblocks to overcome. And once you are 80% there, you will start from scratch, because you will figure out that no team performs constantly at a high level, and while you remove roadblocks, new ones are popping up all around you.
Don’t expect performance - in the first place.
I frequently encountered organizations and leaders who complained that their product teams were underperforming. They expect faster delivery, better collaboration, and better results. They want them to communicate better, make data-informed decisions, and deliver value. But stop here. How can we expect a team to become high-performing if their environment isn’t designed in a way to unblock them?
I believe, that we can't expect performance unless we have a solid foundation and people, purpose, and processes that are in good shape (and if they perform anyway, your team is either small or full of unicorns).
My experience is that it takes a lot of effort to create a great environment for teams, and once we have the right setup in place, we can expect teams to become high-performing. Or even better, they perform naturally.
I identified three key areas to polish first before performance follows (naturally). But how do you get there? This article describes a very simplified version of my personal approach to it.
Step 1 - Create a shared vision.
Imagine that building a strong product team is comparable to building a great product. Every great product starts with an ambitious vision, right? So let’s start there. No worries, I will explain later in this article what the different areas are all about. But if you are serious about a well established product organization that delivers value to your customers and the business and where people feel valued, you should align on the big picture. How do you want to function as a team? What matters? What is missing?
Based on this, you can now assess the status quo of your organization. Even if you use a very simple scale and ask each and every member in your team (and maybe even your key stakeholder) where they think you are on a scale from 1 to 10 if 10 means you work like described in your vision.
This helps you identify the areas that need your attention first, and now you can draft a plan.
Step 2 - Define everything related to your Purpose
Let’s look at some potential questions you might want to ask to understand if there is a clear and shared purpose in your organization: Is the vision of the company and the product crystal clear? Is there an agreement? Is the strategy evident? Can it be used to help teams prioritize? Is the target market defined? Is everyone aware of how success is measured?
The company's vision and product's mission must be crystal clear and understood by all team members. This helps to ensure that everyone is working towards the same goals and objectives. A clear strategy is essential to help teams prioritize their work and make informed decisions.
It's important to have agreement on the company's and product's vision and that everyone is aware of how success is measured. This includes having a well-defined target market and understanding the customer's needs and wants. A well-defined purpose provides the foundation for decision making and helps to ensure that everyone is working towards the same end goal.
Step 3 - Define everything related to your people
Some key questions you should ask yourself and your teams when it comes to number two - people: Is the team equipped with the necessary skills? Are responsibilities and roles clearly defined? Is it adequately staffed? Is the overall health of the team "green"? Are individuals happy? Any bottlenecks? Is cross functional collaboration working?
The individuals who make up any successful team are its foundation. The team must be equipped with the necessary skills to achieve the company's goals. It's essential that each person understand their responsibilities and roles within the team and that the team is adequately staffed to meet its objectives.
A clear definition of roles and responsibilities helps to ensure that everyone knows what they are accountable for, reducing confusion and increasing efficiency. If there is a shortage of staff, it's important to identify the critical skills that are missing and take action to fill the gap. This may involve hiring new staff, training existing staff, or outsourcing certain functions.
The overall health of the team is also an important factor in its success. This includes the happiness and satisfaction of individuals, which can impact their motivation, productivity, and commitment. Regular check-ins with staff, providing opportunities for growth and development, and creating a positive work environment can all contribute to a healthy team.
When team members are happy and motivated, it helps to prevent bottlenecks and ensures that cross-functional collaboration is working effectively. This can lead to better communication, increased innovation, and improved outcomes.
Step 4 - Define the process
Number three is often overlooked. Maybe even consciously avoided, the process: Do people understand how products are build, from initial idea to market fit? How are ideas, tasks, and features prioritized? Where can I get documentation? What belongs to whom? How do we track success? How does the day-to-day work relate to the bigger picture?
The process of building a product is complex and requires a clear understanding of the steps involved. From the initial idea to market fit, it's important that everyone understands how products are built and the processes involved.
Ideas, tasks, and features must be prioritized to ensure that resources are being used effectively. Teams must have access to clear documentation, including processes, responsibilities, and decision-making criteria. This helps to ensure that everyone knows what belongs to whom and helps to reduce confusion and increase efficiency.
If you want to learn more about my personal process to establish a well defined process, I recommend my article “How to align your teams with a solid Product Process”
Step 5 - Time for performance
Ready? Did you fix your key challenges? If you ask your team members and key stakeholders again how they would evaluate your team on purpose, people, and process, did you improve? Did you move close(r) to your initial vision? Congrats. Now its time to talk about performance.
Performance can be measured by various metrics. The Employee Health Score (or eNPS), the time to delivery, a self-evaluation, and I personally believe strongly that you will also see an impact on metrics such as NPS and CES.
Disclaimer
What I describe in this article is far more complex than it sounds. In some companies, I was unable to implement this framework, while in others, I was successful. Over the course of the next few months, I will write more about f*** ups, lessons learned, and successes, so stay tuned.
The “4P framework” provides a useful tool for product leaders to assess their teams and identify areas for improvement. By focusing on people, purpose, process, and performance, you can support your teams to become well-functioning or even high-performing. A regular assessment of the state of your product organization, your purpose, your product processes, and your people can help keep your teams on track and build or maintain your competitive edge.