Mile 18 (or, how to get your team back in focus)
I’m going to use an analogy from the running world. Running a marathon is the true triumph of mind over body. Typically on mile 14, just after crossing the half, you are filled with adrenaline, body feels great and you’re energized. Something similar happens in mile 22, you’re so close you can feel it. Mile 18 is the tough one, roughly half hour from when you felt great last, and over an hour to go. That’s where your body tells you to reconsider, and what’s going to keep you going is your psych. That’s it, nothing else.
At work, something similar happens. Change is the only constant you can count on. Org changes, process, tooling etc. It is very easy to get distracted. Your team fluctuates between mile 14, mile 18 and 22, that’s the swing. As a (product) leader, what are the tactics that can help you get from 18 to 22? There are three.
Have a plan
This is one of the reasons it’s so important to have a healthy backlog. When you have one, it’s much easier to focus the team on the discovery and delivery of the plan. What did not change from yesterday is that the users are still there, their needs are largely still unmet, and you have a lot to work on. Everything from the vision and strategy, through OKRs and roadmaps. Remind the team of the plan and the importance of highlighting the team strength, especially in times of changes.
Back to basics
When things go sideways, it’s always best to focus in areas where the team has a great operating rhythm. Technical PMs may have great relations with their dev leads and may spend a bit more time on delivery vs. discovery. User-oriented PMs will spend more time with users and dev leads will continue to deliver the plan of record. It’s ok to take a breath and let the team operate in their comfort zone for a bit. Remember to measure impact and celebrate success. Keep the team focused.
Maintain optimism and leadership
Perhaps the most important tip is to maintain your own the leadership optimism and conviction. But even before that, demonstrate empathy and acknowledge a change is happening. More often than not, the change is outside of your control, so the key is to maintain good impact on what you can control.
Most changes do not alter the team vision and mission, and if you created some that inspire and drive the team, this is the time to remind everyone why we’re doing what we’re doing. Teams can see optimism and conviction especially through adversity. But they can also sniff uncertainty and doubt, and that’s when bad things can happen. Remember that the audacious vision you had yesterday did not change. It’s still here and you’re probably still excited about it. Just externalize it to the team around you.
A good journey involves the highs and the lows. As a lead, it’s on you to not only keep focus and delivery, but attend to the team dynamics and culture. Every one of those challenges represent an opportunity to strengthen the team. Having a product plan in hand will help you focus on leading and attending to the team and get them to better cycles.
