šļø Issue #7: On Being Comfortable With Not Knowing
And how it can actually be a good thing
Hola friends! š
Iām having a week wherein Iām constantly feeling āIs this the right thing to do?ā. And itās only Tuesday (as of writing).
I guess if I put it in terms of a Product - letās just say I donāt have a confidence in the current solutions I am putting on the table to solve my teamās problems.
And this lack of confidence on solutions include even a lack of confidence on the perspectives Iām taking.
And to be honest, it is daunting. Especially when this time around, the definition of success is not as straight forward as when Iām launching a new product or feature. Not everything can be measured so easily after all. And even when you can, sometimes the results are extremely contradictory.
I guess it comes with the territory. Developing organizations and people is not developing new features.
But thatās not to say that I canāt apply the same Product mindset.
As in, itās not about being good or being right - itās about providing value. And in order to provide value, I need to learn what can.
So I guess, what Iām trying to say is - itās ok if I donāt know if something is the right thing to do, for now. As long as what Iām actually trying to do is to find out what that āright thingā is.
And the only way to get there, is to continuously validate. The same way we do with the features we build. We test. We get feedback. We iterate.
So even though sometimes, I have days wherein Iām having low confidence about the things Iām doing, itās important to be reminded that itās ok.
Because this is where we, Product leaders, are supposed to thrive. In the journey to find out what can provide the best value to the people we work with, the organizations we are part of - just like we do with the users we are helping when we build products.
To be completely honest, it does affect me mentally and emotionally sometimes. Itās uncomfortable to not know or to have low confidence on something. And I think, itās important to call that out because itās normal. And human.
Besides, didnāt some random quote in the internet once say:
So dear reader, in case youāre also feeling low this week or lately about ānot knowingā - not knowing if youāre doing the right thing, or if youāre doing a good job, or some other negative thing. I hope this letter serves as a reminder that this feeling does not mean that youāre doing terribly.
What it means though is that youāre right to want to know more. To gain more confidence about what it is youāre trying to do. So you can learn. And of course, so you can also allow for growth. :)
š Kax
Got questions, feedback, violent reactions? Or other tips for people managers freaking out over their new roles? Leave them in the comments belowš
I work with Product Managers who want to learn how to successfully build products that provide value, create a collaborative team culture, and have trustful relationships with their stakeholders.
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