The Operations Intangibles
Most of the time when I sit down to write a blog post, I'm all about layering strategy with tactics. But today, I'm mixing it up – letting my thoughts flow without the usual structures.
I have seen a lot of talk about Product Operations and People. And I am not going down the route of ‘people’, ‘process’, and ‘technology’ or the central and embedded (or vs.) structures path. Folks have that covered.
There is something to be said about the real soft skills to fit this newer, gaining popularity, title of role - the intangibles.
Note: you could replace ‘Product Operations’ with ‘Design Operations’, ‘Research Operations’, or ‘Engineering Operations’ and I think it’s plenty applicable - which I could write an entirely separate post about but I will stay focused :)
Patience
Patience is at the top of my list. It's the undercurrent of how I navigate all the other intangibles. Patience in ‘where the team’ is today, patience in ‘doing things now that are likely to change later’ and patience in ‘there is so much but I am only one person’, and of course patience in ‘I appreciate the feedback’.
In the Product Operations role, regardless of team size, you have a fairly significant large customer set - your leaders (which you probably have more than one boss yourself), the team you directly enable, and partner teams. Realistically, you have asks across the company to manage and prioritize.
An example: Plenty of partner teams may have unmet expectations of the product, engineering, and design teams. I wish I could say this is unusual. When a partner says to you, as they have to me, “We need to know what deadline we missed to communicate with our customers!” you can say “Yes, let me get that tightened up for you” but most likely you will have to say “Absolutely, but first, we need to align internally on what's ready to be communicated”. And while that partner may think this should be something done already, you know the truth - where the maturity of the product team stands to do this and if moving forward with fulfilling this request doesn’t solve the problem.
The actual problem to solve is “How do we roadmap and how can we build confidence in it so that we can talk to customers openly and honestly through our field sales partners”. What's the root of the problem? Customer distrust. There are plenty of places it can stem from - solving for the outcome of customer trust, which in this case means confidence in what is communicated. Evaluate for confidence, know if will never be 100%, and work with the product team on the ‘right-at-this-time’ communication model for the roadmap.
The Now and the Later
In line with the previous intangible is being able to focus on both the immediate and the future - which I call near-sighted and far-sighted.
It's okay to tackle things bit by bit - when you understand the ‘ideal state’ to drive the ‘ultimate outcome’. Being too nearsighted is ‘fire fighting’ and likely saying things to leadership like “My plate's too full for that key initiative” - even if you are a team of 1, you are a leader and I will state firmly that this line of reasoning won’t get you far in your leadership development. This is a reflection of your priority skills - not on problems, but outcomes.
Product Operations is about influence and modeling excellence to build trust. Being too far-sighted, always preaching outcomes and theories, can disconnect you from your customers. I am guilty of this. Visionary leadership can work, but you have to stay tuned to the efforts of your team (or customers) to ensure that this vision is coming to reality.
I say the same to product and engineering leaders. Transparency and certain mechanisms establish a balance between near-sighted and far-sighted.
An example: In a role I held within a central operations team, we faced a challenge that involved over 100 product managers. Our mission? Not dissimilar from our first example, just a different lens. To make the roadmap transparent for the executive team. The immediate problem presented to us was this: "The executives can't grasp what's happening, so let's introduce tool X to bridge this gap." This approach, while quick and straightforward, was a classic example of near-sighted problem-solving. It addressed the immediate need without considering the underlying issues.
A far-sighted take on this problem would have been ‘Well if we get our long-range planning process in better shape, we can ensure the roadmap aligns with strategic intents’. While both these sights are not inherently bad and it’s important to have both of these in mind, the roadmap readers go beyond the executive team, and the roadmap users around R&D teams - neither of which had any mention.
The balance to strike is to go back to basics – who, what, when, where, why, and evaluate the cost/benefit of an approach. Answering these questions helps avoid late-stage challenges that lead to rework - like the value of product discovery.
Product Operations can do this digging and help say “What is the actual problem? What is the desired outcome? How will we know if we solved the problem/met the outcome? What are our options for getting there and what are the impacts/costs to the masses in each option? How can we validate that solutions meet the criteria?”
Culture and Psychological Safety
I say this often, this is one of the most important intangibles Product Operations carries. Systems – be they organizational structures, processes, or cultural norms – significantly shape team behavior. It’s a blessing but can easily be a curse. Systems we establish, refine, or remove have behavioral implications - ones that can stifle creativity, hinder adaptability, and create blame, fear of failure, the list goes on.
The sentiment of a team carries significant weight in the adoption of these systems - just because it's “right” doesn’t mean it will “happen” and if it doesn’t “happen” the effort was wasted and the outcome is missed. Sentiment may not be overt if you are too far away from your customer. This is another case where it is important to keep the ideal state top of mind and conduct enough discovery to understand the pros and cons of any system.
Psychological safety goes hand-in-hand with innovation and risk-taking. When team members feel safe to express their thoughts, challenge norms, and propose novel ideas without fear of retribution or ridicule, true innovation can flourish.
It requires a deep understanding of individual and team dynamics, as well as the ability to navigate the complex interplay between human emotions and organizational objectives. That’s just hard. Then add the layer of all the pieces of this that you don’t have control over and go back and read “Patience”... :)
An example: For instance, consider the scenario where a system prioritizes rapid response over thorough analysis – “we need to release this to the market soon, we can cut corners just this once”. This might inadvertently cultivate an environment where quick fixes are valued more than sustainable solutions, leading to a cycle of short-term thinking and potential burnout.
If you are reading this and in Product Operations, you’ve seen this. This could go the other way, hear me out - consider the scenario where a system prioritizes thorough analysis over shipping and learning.
Many operational minds favor the latter, the more rigorous approach, but each of these systems has a consequence, which may solve one thing but like everything else, the pendulum swings hard and another unseen problem arises, requiring constant operation iteration. Understand what cost a behavior will have to the organization's goals.
Cultural changes take a while and also last a while. These are delicate endeavors and ones that should be treated as iteratively as possible, considering how quickly sentiment changes. This isn’t just “we don’t like the process” this is more like, “The organization is searching for product-market fit. If we create an overly rigorous process, we may create a compoundable cost of delay given how sensitive our team has been through these changes in the past (or their engagement level in change, period.)”.
Embracing the Journey
The beauty of Product Operations lies in its complexity and the continuous learning it demands. This is why I love my job and am so pleased that others are seeing the opportunity.
As we continue to navigate this dynamic landscape, let's remember that our greatest strength lies in our ability to adapt, understand the deeper currents that drive behaviour, and maintain a balance between being responsive and reflective.
The role of Product Operations is not just to manage or to execute; it's to lead with empathy, vision, resiliency, and a deep understanding of the human element in everything we do.
Easier said than done. It's challenging, sure, but incredibly rewarding.
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