How to unlock your product leadership skills | Ken Norton, Ex-Google

这个播客采访了肯·诺顿，一位产品管理界的资深人士，曾在谷歌工作了 14 年，领导 Google Docs、Google Calendar 和 Google Maps 的产品团队。他现在是一名高管教练，专门与产品领导者合作。 对话的重点是领导力中的创造性思维与反应性思维，产品管理艺术的重要性远胜于科学性，克服冒名顶替综合症，以及找到合适的高管教练。 诺顿强调，从第一天起，产品管理就是一个领导角色。产品经理在没有正式权威的情况下进行领导，并被期望激励和指导他们的团队。他还将高管教练定义为一种创造性的伙伴关系，通过让客户自己定义成功来帮助他们充分发挥潜力。肯不会提供一系列他试图分享、教授或学习的东西；这实际上完全取决于客户。他与高级产品领导者合作，从首席产品官到产品副总裁，甚至包括 CEO。 诺顿回顾了自己的职业生涯，从工程师到首席技术官再到创始人，然后到谷歌，最终成为高管教练。他转向教练的原因是，他意识到提供建议虽然在短期内感觉很有帮助，但往往不会带来持久的改变。他发现他职业生涯中最有成就感的部分是帮助人们成长，他希望帮助客户找到自己的道路。 讨论的很大一部分集中在领导者思维从反应性到创造性的转变上。肯将反应性领导定义为从恐惧的地方回应世界，看到问题和威胁，并专注于成为正确的。相比之下，创造性领导则涉及到从开放、可能性、好奇心、热情、成长和目标感的地方进行回应。研究表明，创造性领导与成功呈正相关，但大多数领导者都是以反应性的方式运作。 诺顿通过取悦型领导者（需要被喜欢）和控制型领导者（需要成为正确的）的例子来说明这些概念。从反应性到创造性的转变需要解决潜在的假设和信念，了解是什么阻碍了你，了解自我期望，以及面对内心的批评家。转变到更具创造性的状态的关键是将连接的意图从需要被喜欢重新定义为成为一个受人尊敬的领导者，其他人会乐于再次与之合作，并在你所拥有的独特品质中找到安慰和力量。 肯承认了“软”技能的重要性，例如同理心和沟通，这些技能通常被认为次要。他强调了在这些技能上投入与技术技能相同的努力的重要性。这些技能对于想要创造和领导鼓励创造力的环境的领导职位的人来说尤其重要。 他谈到了冒名顶替综合症以及克服自我怀疑和不足感的挑战。他强调了认识到可能导致这些感觉的系统性偏见的重要性，特别是对于女性和有色人种而言。他推荐的一些应对冒名顶替综合症的工具包括意识到你内心的批评家并理解其动机。 诺顿提供了寻找合适的高管教练的建议，强调教练和客户之间必须合适。他建议寻找经过国际教练联合会 (ICF) 认证的教练，并指出有各种资源和配对服务可用。 最后，肯谈到了“10 倍而非 10%”思考的重要性——推动突破性创新，而不仅仅是渐进式改进。他强调，领导者需要创造一种环境，让人们感到有能力大胆尝试并探索大胆的想法。

This podcast features an interview with Ken Norton, a product management veteran who spent 14 years at Google leading product teams for Google Docs, Google Calendar, and Google Maps. He is now an executive coach specializing in working with product leaders. The conversation focuses on the creative versus reactive mindset in leadership, the importance of the art of product management over the science, overcoming imposter syndrome, and finding the right executive coach. Norton emphasizes that product management, from day one, is a leadership role. Product managers lead without formal authority and are expected to inspire and guide their teams. He also defines executive coaching as a creative partnership that helps clients reach their full potential by setting their own definitions of success. Ken does not provide a set of things he's trying to share, teach, or learn; it really is fundamentally up to the client. He works with senior product leaders, from chief product officers to VPs of Product and even CEOs. Norton recounts his own career path, from engineer to CTO to founder, then to Google, and eventually to executive coaching. His shift towards coaching came from realizing that giving advice, while feeling helpful in the short term, often doesn't lead to lasting change. He finds the most fulfilling aspects of his career were helping people grow, and he wanted to help clients figure out their own path. A significant portion of the discussion centers on shifting leadership mindsets from reactive to creative. Ken defines reactive leadership as responding to the world from a place of fear, seeing problems and threats, and focusing on being right. Creative leadership, in contrast, involves responding from a place of openness, possibility, curiosity, passion, growth, and purpose. Research shows that creative leadership is positively correlated with success, yet most leaders operate reactively. Norton illustrates these concepts through examples of people-pleasing leaders, who need to be liked, and controlling leaders, who need to be right. Transitioning from reactive to creative requires addressing underlying assumptions and beliefs, understanding what is holding you back, understanding self-expectations, and confronting one's inner critic. The key to shifting to a more creative state is redefining the intention to connect from needing to be liked to becoming a respected leader that others would gladly work with again and finding comfort and strength in the unique qualities you possess. Ken acknowledges the importance of the "softer" skills, such as empathy and communication, which are often dismissed as secondary. He emphasizes the importance of working on them just as much as technical skills. These skills are especially critical for people in leadership positions who want to create and lead environments that invite creativity. He addresses imposter syndrome and the challenge of overcoming feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy. He highlights the importance of recognizing systemic biases that can contribute to these feelings, particularly for women and people of color. Some tools he recommends for coping with imposter syndrome include becoming aware of your inner critic and understanding its motivations. Norton offers advice on finding the right executive coach, emphasizing that the fit has to be right for the coach and client. He suggests looking for coaches certified by the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and notes a variety of resources and matchmaking services available. Finally, Ken touches on the importance of thinking "10x versus 10%" – pushing for breakthrough innovation rather than just incremental improvements. He emphasizes that leaders need to create environments where people feel empowered to take big swings and explore bold ideas.