How did you move into your current management role?

I attribute my career progress to two things: curiosity & persistence. Curiosity: I started my career as a journalist, and I find great satisfaction in trying to understand the why behind most things. In a professional setting, this has led to me learning about all aspects of the business I'm apart of, from marketing to data science to product development. This has helped me tremendously as a product marketer because our craft sits in the middle of so many different business functions. The b ...Read More

Moving from senior manager to director was a tricky move for me, but we got there! Some things that worked well for me: Share your goals early and often with your manager. I got my first Director role because I had told my manager that was my goal, and she helped me understand what I needed to do to get to that level. Then, when the Director left, I was top of mind to take on that role, and I DID! Raise your hand to take on BIG, high-visibility projects. Push yourself, but don't be afraid to ask ...Read More

This is the perfect example that shows success happens when opportunity meets preparation. First, there has to be a business need for a manager on the team. That business need is not in your control (it’s at the discretion of your company). You can certainly make the case about the need, but let’s save that for another question ;) Then, once there’s a business need, you need to show you’re prepared to rise to the need. How do you do that? Show leadership. Isn’t that chicken and egg? No - you can ...Read More

I was hired into my current management role, but in terms of how I moved from an IC to a management role earlier in my career: The company I was working for was building a zero to one product marketing team. I was tapped for the role as I delivered strong strategy-driven work (e.g., new opportunity assessments/business case, competitive intel program, growth strategy) and had solid sponsorship on these projects from senior leadership who shared my work (and my name) proactively with the rest of ...Read More

I love this question because my path to management wasn't exactly a straight line! About 7 years into my marketing career, I was wearing different hats as a product marketer, brand marketer, and communications manager. While I enjoyed these individual contributor roles, something interesting started happening: I found myself naturally gravitating toward leading massive cross-functional projects. In these projects, my roles and responsibilities were shaped by identifying a shared vision and strat ...Read More

So I messed up answering another question, but it is similar to this question. The question was around how did I get to my career stage, what were the things I planned for. Below is my answer for the other question that also applies to this question. Early in my career, I chased titles and money. I thought climbing the ladder faster meant I was successful. But if you’ve read my career journey elsewhere, you’ll know I eventually realized it wasn’t about chasing a specific title—it was about chasi ...Read More

First, I was patient! I actually got hired as a leader, then for a short timeframe my team was flattened. I didn't enjoy being an individual contributor as much, but I used to the time to deepen my PMM skills and to lead the team by influence. Second, I asked for what I wanted.... and I kept asking for it. This is so important! I was very clear with my manager and demonstrated why I was the best person for the role. I kept doing the best work I could until there was an opportunity to get back to ...Read More