Two decades in product management. A career spanning Silicon Valley, Europe, and the Middle East. Google, Careem, Talabat, and more on his résumé. But Tony is more than just an impressive bio—he’s a storyteller, mentor, and relentless advocate for building products and careers that matter.
In his debut article for Product Voyagers, “Navigating the Product Management Ladder,” Tony peels back the curtain on what it really takes to climb, thrive, and lead in the world of product management. From hard-won lessons to unexpected truths, this is a story that promises to inspire and guide your next step. 🚀
🎤 Now over to Tony 👇
Hey, Product Voyagers! Let’s talk about something we all care about: career growth and promotions. Whether you're eyeing that next step or wondering what it actually takes to get there, climbing the PM ladder can feel like trying to decode a cryptic map. Whether you're just starting out or aiming for the C-suite, this series [3 articles] will give you a roadmap for your PM journey.
How do responsibilities shift as you grow? What new challenges will land on your plate? And most importantly, how can you prove you're ready? Spoiler: it’s not just about shipping features or hitting KPIs (though those help).
This series is inspired by Marty Cagan’s definition of the core product role and my own spin on it based on my 20 years of real world experience at different sized companies.
Seniority, Impact, and the Long Game
As you prepare to climb the career ladder, your role expectations shift dramatically.
Early in your career, success is often defined by the features you’ve launched. You write your PRDs, run your AB test, hit your deadlines—and voilà, you’ve made an impact.
But as you grow more senior, the game changes entirely. Suddenly, your value isn’t about checking off more tasks; it’s about the scale and complexity of the problems you solve, the systems you influence, and the long-term outcomes you drive. The bigger the impact you’re expected to produce, the longer it takes to see it through.
Think of seniority like transitioning from being a gardener to a forest planner. As a gardener, you’re planting seeds, watering them, and seeing flowers bloom in days or weeks. But as a forest planner, your role is to design and environments for sustainable growth. Your impact is exponentially larger.
From Seed to Forest: How Seniority changes the Game
Stepping into more senior roles isn’t just about adding more responsibility—it’s about fundamentally changing how you think, act, and deliver.
Each level brings a new perspective, different types of problems to solve, and a longer timeline for your impact to take shape. Here’s a breakdown of how your role evolves, what’s expected of you, and how your time horizon stretches as you climb the ladder.
The Junior-Level
Welcome to the start of your gardening journey!
At this stage, you’re like an apprentice gardener. You’re not deciding what to plant yet—that’s handed to you. You’re learning the tools, understanding the soil, and planting your first seeds under the guidance of more experienced hands. Your role focuses on delivering smaller, well-defined features that have already been carefully scoped out by senior team members.
Your goal is to master the craft: collaborating with engineers, writing clear PRDs, and ensuring the seeds you’re responsible for are planted with care and attention building strong roots for future growth.
The Mid-Level
You’re officially a botanist!
You’ve mastered the basics of planting and caring for individual trees, and now you’re entrusted with more ambiguous soil [problems]. It’s up to you to decide what to plant [products to build], how to nurture it, and when to harvest.
At this stage, you’re balancing short-term wins with long-term sustainability, breaking down cross-functional barriers, and aligning diverse stakeholders. You’re no longer asking, “What should I do?” but instead guiding the organization on what to prioritize and setting realistic expectations for when growth will bloom.
Your tree might take some time to bear fruit, but when it does, the impact is profound.
The Senior
Congratulations, you’re now a garden strategist!
Welcome to the world of strategy. Your role is no longer just about planting individual trees [great products]; it’s about nurturing them to fruition, ensuring they bear fruits that customers love [a seamless, end-to-end experience].
While others focus on specific stages of growth [product development], you’re stepping back to see how the entire garden [organization] thrives as a whole. You shape strategies that balance the immediate needs of growth with the foresight to tackle challenges, cultivating an environment where every element supports and enhances the ecosystem.
You’re not just concerned with the health of individual trees; your focus is on how the entire garden works together to create something beautiful and sustainable. Your impact isn’t just profound—it’s compounding, as every thoughtful decision you make strengthens the whole system and amplifies results over time.
The Director
Think of yourself as the architect of a thriving forest!
Your role transcends individual trees [products]; you’re now responsible for cultivating an interconnected ecosystem where each tree grows in harmony, supporting and strengthening the whole forest. Your work ensures that the forest flourishes sustainably over time.
At this level, your focus is on creating an environment that acts like a guiding light for the forest. This light brings clarity and alignment across the organization, illuminating the path for each individual to understand how their contributions connect to the overarching vision and how their efforts impact the ecosystem as a whole.
Your work takes years to fully materialize, with much of your impact coming from empowering others to thrive. But when everything comes together, the result is transformational—not just for the trees, but for the entire ecosystem you’ve cultivated
Key Takeaways for PMs Navigating Growth:
Clarity of Expectations: Clearly understand the responsibilities and deliverables at each level. Focus on learning, executing, and consistently meeting expectations to ensure steady progression.
Respect the Impact Horizon: Growth takes time. Embrace each stage to strengthen your skills and deepen your understanding of the role. Rushing ahead may result in missed opportunities to grasp core expectations and the nuances of impact at each level.
Collaboration is the Foundation: Across all stages, success hinges on collaboration, clear communication, and a focus on long-term, compounding impact. These principles are crucial for sustained growth and thriving in any role.
And this is just the beginning! 🚀 This article is the first in a series where we’ll dive deeper into the stages of product management growth, from honing your craft to mastering strategy and beyond. Stay tuned for the next chapter of insights and stories as we continue navigating the product management ladder together.
Tony’s reflections on transitioning from tasks to strategy align beautifully with other stories in Product Voyagers. The below articles explore complementary themes about growth and leadership:
👉 "Think You're a Strong Product Leader? These 5 Traits Will Prove It!" Explore the essential traits of leadership—decisiveness, emotional intelligence, openness to feedback, risk-taking, and resilience—that define successful product leaders as they navigate the complexities of senior roles.
👉 "Before You Rush Ahead: Is Your Career Really on the Right Path?" This reflective piece emphasizes the importance of respecting your own pace of growth, aligning career choices with your long-term goals, and avoiding the trap of rushing ahead without a clear sense of direction.
Join the Voyage
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🚀 We’d love to hear from you! Whether you want to collaborate, write with us, or simply explore the content we’re creating, let’s connect.
👉 Reach out to The Product Voyagers and become part of a growing network of product leaders and trailblazers.
Great post Tony, I myself have also just come to see myself as a gardener in my role as a PM. Finding root causes, fixing bugs, trimming dead branches and ultimately building long-term sustainable growth - the analogy works surprisingly well! :)
Great Post, thanks Tony!
Great post Tony, I myself have also just come to see myself as a gardener in my role as a PM. Finding root causes, fixing bugs, trimming dead branches and ultimately building long-term sustainable growth - the analogy works surprisingly well! :)