554: Move from product manager to product leader without the wobbles – with Piers Fallowfield-Cooper
Product Mastery Now for Product Managers, Leaders, and Innovators · 2025-08-25 · 22 min
Episode notes
The biggest challenges when moving from individual contributor to product VP Watch on YouTube TLDR In this episode, I welcome Piers Fallowfield Cooper—executive coach and author of Are You Still the Future? —to explore one of the most critical career transitions in product management: moving from individual contributor to product leader. We discuss why success as a product manager doesn’t guarantee success in leadership, the mindset and skills required to thrive as a product VP, the importance of personal strengths and adaptability, and practical advice for building a successful, energized team. Introduction Let me paint a picture of a common occurrence. Product VPs and leaders start out as individual contributors, i.e., product managers. Because of their outstanding work, delivering value for the organization and delighting customers, the product manager's responsibilities and influence quickly increases, resulting in a promotion to Product VP. Sounds great, right? Maybe not—a couple months after the promotion they are struggling and their teams are frustrated. If you were that newly promoted VP, you would be wondering if you made a terrible mistake. Let's turn that around.