Executive Coaching for Product & Design Leaders
The higher you go in product or design leadership, the less the job is about product or design.
The work becomes organizational.
You’re setting direction without controlling every decision. You’re building teams and leadership layers. You’re negotiating priorities with engineering, sales, marketing, finance, and a CEO. You’re deciding where to spend limited attention. And you’re increasingly responsible for creating the conditions in which other people do great work.
I’ve spent much of my career making that transition myself.
Before becoming an executive coach, I spent more than 20 years working across product, design, technology, and company leadership—from GeoCities and Yahoo! to Etsy and Media Temple, from founding and leading Reaction Commerce to eventually serving as Chief Product Officer at Mailchimp.
The transition into executive leadership
Becoming a VP, CPO, CDO, or senior product leader often requires letting go of some of the things that made you successful.
You can’t attend every product review.
You can’t personally resolve every disagreement.
You shouldn’t be the person with every good idea.
Your impact increasingly comes through the people, systems, decisions, and environment you create.
That transition can be surprisingly difficult.
What we might work on
My coaching with product and design leaders often touches:
- Moving from functional leader to company executive
- Developing an executive point of view
- Product and organizational strategy
- Building and restructuring teams
- Hiring and developing leaders
- Delegation and accountability
- CEO and executive-team relationships
- Influencing across functions
- Executive presence and communication
- Difficult people decisions
- Leading through ambiguity and change
- Burnout and sustainable leadership
- Deciding what comes next in your career
We can work on the immediate challenge in front of you while also examining the patterns underneath it.
How we work together
We start with the situation in front of you. That might be an executive-team disagreement, a team structure that no longer fits, or a decision you keep postponing. We look at what you can influence, what needs a direct conversation, and what assumptions might need testing.
I ask questions, notice patterns, and share experience when it helps. You bring the context and the decisions. Together we find a practical next step, whether that is a clearer expectation, a conversation with your CEO, or an experiment in how you delegate.
For a sense of my thinking, read On One-on-Ones and From Producer to Builder.
Work with me
I work with product and design leaders taking on broader responsibility, including those moving into their first executive role. If your role is changing because your company has been acquired, you may also find coaching through acquisition useful.
Read about my approach, session format, and fees, or schedule a free introductory conversation. You don’t need a perfectly formed goal before we talk.