Summary
Having grown her career from UX designer to Product Experience leader, Wendy Johansson has learned a thing or two about what it means to "be a product boss". Along the way she's had plenty of wins, more than her fair share of fails, and one or two moments when things completely blew up in her face. So, rest-assured, she'll be speaking truth in this presentation where she will share why, when, and how designers should level up their careers towards product bossdom! From understanding just what it is that product leaders do, to learning how you can incorporate product know-how into your design skills toolkit--Wendy will help you bring out your inner product boss for more effective communications and outcomes in all your organizational interactions - across engineering, product, sales, and even your own team! Be sure to join the live post-session Q+A with Wendy for the opportunity to share questions and relate your own experiences of being a product boss!
Key Insights
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A broad early role spanning design, sales, marketing, and operations builds invaluable cross-functional perspective for product leadership.
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Product leadership is less about specific tools or processes, and more about managing people and relationships effectively.
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The concept of managing ‘up, down, sideways, and outwards’ frames all essential stakeholder relationships a product leader must navigate.
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Managing up means arming your managers with information so they can defend design investments and advocate for the team.
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Transparency and empathy in managing down helps teams handle shifting priorities and avoid morale-damaging 'whiplash'.
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Managing sideways requires meeting peers where they are, adapting communication style to diverse roles, like doctors or sales.
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Managing outwards is about direct engagement with customers or end users, surfacing real needs beyond surface feature requests.
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Reframing design skills toward understanding and influencing partner teams drives product success without requiring formal PM titles.
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Product and design should be considered parts of the same ecosystem focused on solving for users collaboratively.
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Resilience in teams grows when leaders share challenges openly rather than sheltering them, preparing teams for real-world complexity.
Notable Quotes
"Product is designed. Design is product. We are looking at the same ecosystem in the bigger picture."
"That table at the top where product strategy happens is wonky AF—it's different everywhere and influenced by politics and people's experiences."
"Managing up is about understanding what your managers need to get promoted and helping them achieve that."
"Being a product boss isn’t about the tools you use. It’s all about the people and relationships behind those people."
"The four stretches of product leadership are managing up, down, sideways, and outwards."
"I would let my teams have those hard experiences instead of holding the umbrella because resilience comes from facing challenges directly."
"We don’t call anyone a product manager in our org, but as a product boss, I wear that hat and help designers grow into that ownership."
"Managing sideways means meeting people where they are and speaking their language — especially when working with doctors and psychologists."
"Politics will always be there. You can’t avoid it, but you can learn to navigate it without it detracting from your craft."
"To be a product leader, you don’t need a PM course, bootcamp, or MBA. You need to reframe your design skills for the people around you."
Or choose a question:
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