SUNDAY REWIND: The F words of highly successful product organisations by Saielle DaSilva

In this #mtpcon London 2022 keynote, Saielle DaSilva, Global VP of Design at StepStone and former Director of User Experience at Cazoo, explains through five f-words how we can add value, achieve alignment and make better decisions while creating a more inclusive and caring culture.

Feelings

Product managers deal with people every day. The mistake they often make is thinking that with a clear enough vision, or reinforced strategy, people will ‘put their feelings away’, but that’s not the case. The only way to get better software is by looking after your people, feelings are important, Saielle says.

Focus

Focus is understanding what’s important and how to make space for it. For product leaders, this means clarifying how your work impacts the overall strategy and recognising the cost involved with changing course. Saielle recommends building focus into the planning processes, considering technical debt and efficiency as part of all improvements, ensuring you’re not limiting your ability to shift focus later.

Friction

Friction is found in decision-making processes and alignment. Negative friction forms when decisions are made without clarity, communication and space for discussion. Healthy friction comes with a culture of respect and position of equality, where everyone acknowledges that efforts are ongoing, and teams work to understand the best possible outcomes.

Facilitation

Facilitation is designing conditions for good decision-making, clarifying principles and documenting what you do. It’s often an overlooked or undervalued skill, but it is critical.

Give a f*ck

As Saielle says: “Things are too important not to give a f*ck […] feelings are the fuel for transformation, focus is necessary to sustain it. Friction is inevitable, and embracing it will make you more resilient […] let’s go give some f*cks.”

Read the original post and watch the video: The F words of highly successful product organisations by Saielle DaSilva

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