How can you tell when it's time to leave your Product Management role?

It's time to think about moving on from your Product Management role when you're no longer growing or learning, if your career goals aren't lining up with the job, or if you just don't vibe with the company's direction anymore. If you've tried fixing these issues but nothing's changed, it might be a sign to look for new opportunities. Always keep an eye on how you feel about your job – it's the best guide you have!

If your vision clashes with stakeholders and you feel lost or unsupported, it might be time to leave your Product Management role. When alignment fades and frustration grows, seeking a better fit becomes crucial. Recognizing the signs and considering a change can lead to a more fulfilling career path.

Leaving a product management position because of a mismatch can be challenging. If your vision doesn't align with the team's and clashes persistently, there might be a disconnect. Think about moving on if your fundamental values clash or if you struggle to make a substantial impact on the product's development. If attempts to reconcile or negotiate repeatedly fall through, it might be worth considering other opportunities that better align with your vision.

One of the biggest problems I have experienced in my career is the lack of alignment in terms of agile work. As a product manager or product owner, you need to align with stakeholders outside of an agile work environment. While the idea of agility is welcomed by nearly all stakeholders, they do not want to be pushed back, when they come with own ideas, short term requests or changes in directions. Even having discussions about fixed deadlines and release dates can be an issue. The Product Person often finds itself in the last defense line of the agile team. A proper communication to (senior) stakeholders about the agile ways of working and a buy-in request to the senior management is crucial.

Lack of alignment is the first thing you must look for and it is a deal breaker. It is not something that you can just push through and hope it all works out in the end. This is something that must be detected and solved early on or else nothing can proceed.

Se você sente que os desafios relacionados ao produto que você está trabalhando n?o s?o mais estimulantes, talvez seja a hora de considerar a troca de produto. Para fazer um trabalho estimulante e envolvente na área de produto é recomendado que você ame o produto, o problema e goste da solu??o que você está implementando, isso tudo traz diversos desafios que devem te manter motivado e engajado, auxiliando com a resiliência necessária para realizar um bom trabalho de produto. Caso os desafios n?o sejam mais estimulantes no sentido da dificuldade ou de serem do seu interesse, é possível que você fique desanimado com o trabalho e passe mais stress e frustra??o, nesse momento vale a pena refletir sobre uma troca.

I’m my experience, the technology arena was always a challenge. You have to evolve and develop your skills regularly to take on new challenges that continually present themselves. If you are not spending time to learn new skills, opportunities will pass you by, making you a liability rather than an asset.

From a broader standpoint, accepting challenges in product management fosters professional and personal development as well as the success of the company as a whole. You may improve the competitiveness of the product in the market and raise your own abilities by consistently looking for new possibilities to learn, innovate, and provide value. You could find it beneficial to look for a more stimulating workplace if your current employment hinders your capacity to contribute creatively or limits your ability to make a meaningful difference. You might also bring new ideas and views to the goods and projects you work on.

Actually, I never experienced this situation in my >15 years experience as product owner. It could have happen, if I would isolate myself while thinking about the next best thing... but if you listen to your team and involve stakeholder, customers, peers etc. you always get tons of ideas. Actually I always found myself more with the problem to prioritize all ideas within the backlog with an up-to-date business value. The question is more about how to find ideas and exiting new things. Do not own thinking - do best thinking together with others.

If you feel that you've hit a ceiling in terms of professional development, learning, or advancement in your current role, it might be time to look for new opportunities. Always learning is my motto. Before completely abandoning your role, try switching teams (I know that's hard in big tech) first!

When you realise just managing one product is lacking impact, it's the time to explore options. Perhaps you can move up the ladder and start managing a portfolio of products, growing the impact of your role. You can also think laterally and shift to adjacent roles, such as demand generation and focus on a purely growth-oriented role leaving behind you agile milestone and bug squashing sessions.

Yes, there can be situations when you have to accept that the product you build is done and the backlog is feature free. For all other situations it is not only important to measure you impact, it is also important to UNDERSTAND its meaning. You might find yourself working on a search algorithm, which you need to improve with your team. Rolling out improvements might only improve your KPI by 0.2%. This number is not really exciting. But if you understand the meaning of 0.2% for all the users of this search algorithm or the financial translation of this number, it might change your perspective - because this can be really huge! But yes, finding the right KPIs and also understand their meaning means a lot of effort to set it up correctly.

Impact is all about the system. If you are depended upon by a system that has veritable social impact, and you are reliable, then you are sustaining that impact. But if you crave the type of impact that comes along with notoriety, seek notoriety first and figure out how to have an impact later.

In my perspective, impact is a drive force for creativity. It triggers continuous learning and developing the product more. Once there is no positive impact or less impact, challenge spirit starts to fade away and take the brain into “pause” status. Which is a sign to leave for the next adventure

When deciding to leave your Product Management role, assess your work-life balance. If you're overwhelmed, stressed, or burnt out, it may harm your well-being. Feeling unsupported or unhappy due to long hours or limited resources suggests it's time to consider a change for a healthier, more sustainable option.

Acting as a product manager /product owner is a challenge for sure. No day is like the other. But my experience is that the related people love this kind of job. If you do not get the right recognition or support - it is for sure time to change the company, but not your role. However, in my career I have seen a lot of young talents falling in the trap of product mangers to loose the balance. This cause health issues and frustration at some point and it is one of the most important aspects (not only for the job of product managers) to understand that you are not a super hero! The right prioritization, delegation and enabling your development team to become a self-organized team is the key to success.

The biggest aspect of balance is time. It is a common myth that everything must be perfectly balanced at all times. When deadlines are approaching, work-life balance must be adjusted accordingly. When vacation time or August is approaching, the balance can be adjusted in the opposite direction. In that way, there is a balance, but it is unsustainable to maintain it constantly throughout one's life.

Always leave in good terms. This is a small world and you want to make sure you leave a positive impression as you might bump into the same colleagues in the future. I always suggest to conduct a run of exit conversations with your colleagues, where you have a chance to recap your achievements, explain why you are moving fwd and offering to keep in touch and help them.

It solely depends on the very core goals and ambitions you got when your employer gave you the responsibilities of the product manager . If its for a higher post like for example Country Product Manager or Regional Product manager you can align and go for it . If its for a totally different reason do the cons and pros for the same

Deixar a fun??o de gerenciamento de um produto é algo desafiador, e preferencialmente n?o deve levar em considera??o apenas os fatos recentes, mas também o senso de propósito, e perspectivas futuras. Mas, se a saída for inevitável, é ideal que seja de forma pacífica e alinhada com os stakeholders, visando impactar da menor forma possível no desenvolvimento do produto. Preferencialmente, se possível, repassar para o próximo profissional, todas as informa??es e backgrounds necessários para a continuidade do desenvolvimento, diminuindo a curva de aprendizagem do próximo.

Leaving a role isn’t easy especially if it’s related to product management as this long term relationship has developed between you and your product (s). You have been investing time and effort to develop & flourish. Yet when it comes to take such a decision and however it’s hard, keeping an open door is an essential step in your exit. Leave but keep a good scene behind you!

I've learned from experience that not all great companies align with my passions and interests. When you find your passion isn't aligned it is time to move on. Remaining in a role you can't find a passion for will lead to failure for both you and your customers.

Just like any role, burnout is more likely to occur if there is a mismatch between personal values and organizational value. It is important for individuals to periodically visit whether the product management role still aligns with one's expectation and shouldn't hesitate to either mold the role more closely to their needs or think about leaving

Here are the top things I'll put at the front of my mind : - Your salary is important, don't think you are selfish when you ask 'Whats in it for me?' - When you discover you are not having increased years of experience but years of the same experience, then you should consider moving - Don't be too obsessed with titles. They don't mean much. You can take a lower title and still earn much more in a better place. - Ensure wherever you are or are going to is a place to LEARN and EARN.

Consider adjacent roles where you might have a bigger impact, whilst putting to good use the skillset gained as product manager. Brand management, demand generation and PMO roles are a great example of disciplines where you might have a bigger impact, yet people will look up at you for the diverse skillset you bring to the table as a former product manager.

If you are in a team which lack vision or the modus operandi doesn't align with your values, this is a clear indication of need for shift.