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Over two years ago, I joined a fast-growing biotech startup to help grow our product management organization. At the time, many of my teammates were experiencing working with a dedicated Product function for the very first time. Rather than treating the early stage of organizational growth as an obstacle, I saw it as a perfect opportunity to define how Product could (and should) support the business, while growing my own craft.
As part of a two-person Product team, and at times the sole PM, I had to earn my seat at the table. There were some tracks laid out for me when I joined as the second Product Manager, but plenty left to do. Demonstrating the value of Product and fostering product thinking across the organization took time, persistence, and intention. But it was precisely that lack of an “established” way of working that, when framed as an opportunity, enabled me to grow in unique ways.
While we are continuously evolving and scaling our product organization, the progress we've made has built a strong, shared product mindset across our teams. Below I’m sharing four things I have focused on to help shape that evolution. These not only apply to those in a situation of Product Management “early adoption”, but to anyone looking to strengthen their product culture.
Not everyone has the full PM skill set, but people across your organization will demonstrate parts of it. Amplifying Product craft means two things to me: empowering the people who show it, and making your craft visible so others can learn from it.
Look for teammates demonstrating qualities of a strong PM, such as deep customer curiosity, the ability to break down complex problems and communicate them simply, and a strong intuition on what to build and why. From there, create opportunities for them to take ownership of Product work.
For me, this has looked like:
Don’t just focus on sharing and getting buy-in on what outcome you’ll be driving and how, but share how you arrive there. The more you can expose your craft, the more it gives way for others to approach their work with a Product-centric lens. Be open about trade-offs you’re making, frameworks you use and how you position your work with the company’s strategy.
I’ve done this by taking advantage of company-wide forums like Town Halls, Lunch & Learns, Demos, and Slack. I also participate in onboarding new team members to explain what Product does and how we add value.
The payoff: The momentum shifted when other teams began proactively engaging with Product on new initiatives, and seeing my teammates make user-centric decisions more confidently on their own during prioritization and scoping.
The goal isn’t to make everyone think like a PM, but to help them navigate day-to-day judgment in ways that drive value for the business and our users. What I didn’t anticipate was how much doing this would sharpen my own craft. Having to explain and teach it tested me in ways a more defined organization might not have.
When the baseline is folks not knowing exactly what you do, earning trust quickly matters. This does not have to be through delivering a feature, or a full strategy build-out, but through demonstrating the value of your perspective.
Your most immediate contribution is the lens you bring to framing a complex problem, connect it to user needs and business value, and create a path forward for your team and partners.
I started to see this pay off when I had team members and partners pulling me in conversation earlier and more often; whether it was a half-baked idea that needed refining, or helping someone navigate an ambiguous problem. The entire goal is to get that “aha” moment from them, which is the realization that a Product Manager can often improve the way a team approaches opportunities, works together, and then delivers value.
When introducing a new Product function, it’s completely natural to navigate areas of shared ownership with existing teams. The goal isn’t to duplicate or replace the great work already being done, but rather to serve as an asset that enables non-Product roles to refocus their expertise, and partner closely with them.
Solid relationships built on mutual respect go a long way, especially in this environment. Take time to really understand what your team and stakeholders are working toward, what matters to them, where they feel stretched too thin or where other challenges are surfacing.
This applies to people in your Product team, and stakeholders that may be closest to the problems you need to solve, whether they are key contributors across different teams, have very deep domain expertise, or strongly influence decision-making.
You can lean on these relationships to help align your efforts to their priorities, look for ways to reduce friction, and surface opportunities that drive larger impact while highlighting everyone’s strengths (and your own). Even with AI increasing how much an individual can do, nothing meaningful ships solo.
In a less established Product organization, the risk of stalled growth is real if you only look inward. That makes external learning and community a non-negotiable, not just for your professional growth, but to bring in industry perspectives and insights back into your own organization.
There are three things I would recommend:
If you’re in a similar position, I hope some of this resonates. While some days feel more like I am taking one step forward and two steps back, this kind of environment is also one that many Product Managers may find compelling.
At the end of the day, the reason many of us chose to pursue Product Management was to solve problems, connect the dots and build things. The fact that there is no defined playbook to inherit means that you get to build it, in true 0 to 1 style. If you’re up for it, the ambiguity is a very inspiring place to be. Just make sure you continue to keep track of what success looks like for you, your users and your organization.
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Over two years ago, I joined a fast-growing biotech startup to help grow our product management organization. At the time, many of my teammates were experiencing working with a dedicated Product function for the very first time. Rather than treating the early stage of organizational growth as an obstacle, I saw it as a perfect opportunity to define how Product could (and should) support the business, while growing my own craft.
As part of a two-person Product team, and at times the sole PM, I had to earn my seat at the table. There were some tracks laid out for me when I joined as the second Product Manager, but plenty left to do. Demonstrating the value of Product and fostering product thinking across the organization took time, persistence, and intention. But it was precisely that lack of an “established” way of working that, when framed as an opportunity, enabled me to grow in unique ways.
While we are continuously evolving and scaling our product organization, the progress we've made has built a strong, shared product mindset across our teams. Below I’m sharing four things I have focused on to help shape that evolution. These not only apply to those in a situation of Product Management “early adoption”, but to anyone looking to strengthen their product culture.
Not everyone has the full PM skill set, but people across your organization will demonstrate parts of it. Amplifying Product craft means two things to me: empowering the people who show it, and making your craft visible so others can learn from it.
Look for teammates demonstrating qualities of a strong PM, such as deep customer curiosity, the ability to break down complex problems and communicate them simply, and a strong intuition on what to build and why. From there, create opportunities for them to take ownership of Product work.
For me, this has looked like:
Don’t just focus on sharing and getting buy-in on what outcome you’ll be driving and how, but share how you arrive there. The more you can expose your craft, the more it gives way for others to approach their work with a Product-centric lens. Be open about trade-offs you’re making, frameworks you use and how you position your work with the company’s strategy.
I’ve done this by taking advantage of company-wide forums like Town Halls, Lunch & Learns, Demos, and Slack. I also participate in onboarding new team members to explain what Product does and how we add value.
The payoff: The momentum shifted when other teams began proactively engaging with Product on new initiatives, and seeing my teammates make user-centric decisions more confidently on their own during prioritization and scoping.
The goal isn’t to make everyone think like a PM, but to help them navigate day-to-day judgment in ways that drive value for the business and our users. What I didn’t anticipate was how much doing this would sharpen my own craft. Having to explain and teach it tested me in ways a more defined organization might not have.
When the baseline is folks not knowing exactly what you do, earning trust quickly matters. This does not have to be through delivering a feature, or a full strategy build-out, but through demonstrating the value of your perspective.
Your most immediate contribution is the lens you bring to framing a complex problem, connect it to user needs and business value, and create a path forward for your team and partners.
I started to see this pay off when I had team members and partners pulling me in conversation earlier and more often; whether it was a half-baked idea that needed refining, or helping someone navigate an ambiguous problem. The entire goal is to get that “aha” moment from them, which is the realization that a Product Manager can often improve the way a team approaches opportunities, works together, and then delivers value.
When introducing a new Product function, it’s completely natural to navigate areas of shared ownership with existing teams. The goal isn’t to duplicate or replace the great work already being done, but rather to serve as an asset that enables non-Product roles to refocus their expertise, and partner closely with them.
Solid relationships built on mutual respect go a long way, especially in this environment. Take time to really understand what your team and stakeholders are working toward, what matters to them, where they feel stretched too thin or where other challenges are surfacing.
This applies to people in your Product team, and stakeholders that may be closest to the problems you need to solve, whether they are key contributors across different teams, have very deep domain expertise, or strongly influence decision-making.
You can lean on these relationships to help align your efforts to their priorities, look for ways to reduce friction, and surface opportunities that drive larger impact while highlighting everyone’s strengths (and your own). Even with AI increasing how much an individual can do, nothing meaningful ships solo.
In a less established Product organization, the risk of stalled growth is real if you only look inward. That makes external learning and community a non-negotiable, not just for your professional growth, but to bring in industry perspectives and insights back into your own organization.
There are three things I would recommend:
If you’re in a similar position, I hope some of this resonates. While some days feel more like I am taking one step forward and two steps back, this kind of environment is also one that many Product Managers may find compelling.
At the end of the day, the reason many of us chose to pursue Product Management was to solve problems, connect the dots and build things. The fact that there is no defined playbook to inherit means that you get to build it, in true 0 to 1 style. If you’re up for it, the ambiguity is a very inspiring place to be. Just make sure you continue to keep track of what success looks like for you, your users and your organization.
Toronto Product Management Association (TPMA) is a community focused on development, growth and networking of Product professionals in the Greater Toronto Area.
