What's the career path for a 5yr experienced Product Manager to become a leader? What are the steps to prepare oneself for the next step, i.e., becoming a Sr./Director/VP of Product or CEO?

There is no one path:) These are the things I can recommend:

• Constantly solve new problems and learn new things - if you are comfortable in a role then its time to change.

• Don't limit yourself to just product - you need to understand other functions and how they relate to your product and customer. If possible do a tour of duty in those functions.

• Be open to feedback and reflect on that constantly to see how you can improve

• Work for someone who is at that role and that you respect and learn from them

• If possible, join a smaller company because you will see more of the details of the various functions and you can learn faster

As you continue growing, both the number of years and the kind of work, impact matters. Here could be some important steps to consider:

• Observe the work being done by senior folks at your company - ask if you can shadow them for any important sessions (e.g. strategy reviews). Find opportunities to help them out with any small pieces of that work. Usually, when you are moving along in your career, you have already started assuming the future responsibilities.

• Participate in any opportunities to take up external customer calls, build relationships with the sellers in your company and understand how commercial opportunities are being executed.

• Participate in product areas outside of your core product. Start building a bigger picture of the company, product ecosystem and connect the dots. Look for opportunities to collaborate on projects with peers outside of your core group.

• If you're interested in pursuing management track, explore mentoring opportunities with PMs early in their career or cross-functional colleagues looking for PM exposure.

• Widen your exposure to a variety of product areas and topics - data heavy, workflow optimizations, growth, new business, etc.

• File a request to get a PM intern (if there’s such a program at your company) for direct people management experience

• Sign up through your company’s mentorship program (if there is one) to glean coaching/mentorship experience

• Become another employee’s unofficial mentor (if you are doing great work, folks will notice, and will naturally ask you to help/guide them on things)

• Influence other product development teams’ roadmaps (outside of the product development teams under your PM purview)

• Ask to take on more product areas with deep complexity, nebulous problems, and wider scope

• Take your time to research, craft, evangelise, and get buy-in for a multi-year roadmap (in larger companies)

• What’s most important: launch impactful products. What you could do on top of that: establish yourself as a thought leader outside and inside the company

• Demonstrate constantly showing emotional maturity / resilience when faced with extreme conflict