Most of the CEOs I work with understand that the role of the product leader is very important. But many of them don’t fully understand how, exactly, it is important. Whenever I talk to startup CEOs, especially first-timers, the discussion on product-related topics goes immediately to UX and wireframes. While this is indeed an important aspect of the product (although product and UX are different roles), it is far from reflecting the product leader’s full responsibility. I would argue that even if you are beyond that spot, and as a product leader, you do much more than UX, you and the company might still not realize what your primary responsibility is as a product leader.

Product management is a unique role in many ways. One of these ways is that it has no clear playbook, and its boundaries are very vague. Add to that the fact that most of what we do is think and talk, and to produce real outcomes, we need others to do their jobs, and you’ll understand why, looking from the outside, it’s hard to understand what we do.

In the evolution of a startup, the founders initially do whatever they can themselves. Thinking and talking about the product definitely falls under this category. When do they feel that they can no longer do it themselves? When it comes to the actual work products that product managers deliver, mostly wireframes and user stories. It is also about the same time that working with R&D becomes more intense, so a lot of project management is needed.

You can only make a first impression once, so it is no surprise that many CEOs see the product role primarily as a delivery role for concrete outcomes and generally as an execution-related role.

When it comes to the product leader (in early-stage startups, it is often even the same person as the hands-on product manager), they still see the importance of the role in orchestrating the product execution. They will say this is a strategic role, but in many cases, what they can think of in terms of responsibilities is all execution-related.

Here are three blindspots that many product leaders have about their own roles and responsibilities.

Product Definition Itself Is Not Strategy

It is so easy to be drawn into the execution hustle day in and day out. Honestly, even if you want to raise your head and do something else, the CEO often has a significant contribution to the hustle and chaotic feeling.

So why do the CEOs say that product leadership is an important, strategic role? It’s usually because, as a product company, the person who defines the product has an immense impact on the company’s ability to succeed. It makes perfect sense.

But what is product definition exactly? Many people see it as the product’s UX and behavior. That is part of the definition, no doubt, but it’s the tactical part of it. That’s why I include it under the execution-related responsibilities of the product leader. It doesn’t mean, by the way, that it is an easy job or that it is not important for the company’s ability to succeed. But the problem starts when the product leader’s responsibility stops there. 

Truly defining the product includes many other things, like which problem it solves, for whom, the value proposition, and why it makes sense business-wise – considering all relevant points of view, including the customers, the market, and the company itself.

Test yourself: As a product leader, are you dealing with these things, or are you simply following the direction of senior management and trying to build a product that would make the most of this direction? How big is your playground and freedom to truly define the product?

If you don’t deal with the strategic aspects of the product definition, my advice would be to start ASAP. One way to do so is as part of the CPO Bootcamp, where the participants learn the profound aspects of product strategy and get explicit guidance on building it for their own products.

Business Is Also Your Business

Because the product leader’s role is often perceived as execution-related, It is easy to confuse a successful delivery of the product with what makes a product leader successful. 

A successful delivery is important, but it’s only a means to an end. 

Your primary responsibility as a product leader is not successful delivery. Your primary responsibility is to drive the company’s business success through its product(s). To do that, you must first and foremost be involved and understand all the business aspects of the product, including the company’s business goals and the reasoning behind them.

When I send my mentees to work with sales on better understanding the customers and the market, the discussion often gets very quickly into features that are missing in the product. In some cases, this seems to be a more comfortable place both for the product leader and the salesperson. It is very tangible and easy to discuss, but it would miss what you are really trying to achieve from such conversations.

In the first edition of Marty Cagan’s book ‘Inspired,’ he said that for a product to succeed, it must be valuable, usable, and feasible. It is only in the second edition (released in December 2017) that he also added ‘business viable.’ If it took Marty almost ten years to address this critical aspect of product leadership, no wonder many product leaders don’t understand that this is part of their role. And unfortunately, since most CEOs are neither experienced product leaders nor have worked with one before, they wouldn’t be able to tell you that this is your responsibility, let alone guide you in fulfilling it.

My recommendation is not to wait for someone to give you that explicit responsibility because, in most cases, it will never come. Instead, start thinking from that perspective and engage in discussions that provoke others’ thinking about these topics. This is one of those things that you only understand how much you were missing after you started doing it.

The old saying (which I love) is that the product leader is the CEO of the product. I see it most in that, as a product leader, anything related to the product is your business. There is no such thing as irrelevant or not accountable when it comes to the product leader. When you get that everything is your business, don’t forget to include the real business in that.

The Dual Role of the Product Leader

When you look at the product leader’s role (code name: CPO) compared to their peers (namely CMO, CTO, CRO, CFO), the product leader’s role stands out. Everyone mentioned above (CPO included) has execution-related responsibilities, each in their own domain. They are all executives in the company, meaning that they are part of company-related decisions even when they are out of direct responsibility. All of them have strategic responsibilities within their domain, but the product leader’s strategic responsibility goes all the way up to the company level – and crosses all domains.

The product strategy in a product company is not the strategy of the product department. It is much closer to the company strategy in terms of how broad it is. In fact, it should take the company strategy and bring it a few levels down to make sure it makes sense even when you add details to it. If it doesn’t, it is the product leader’s responsibility to provoke the discussions that will likely end up in a refined company strategy. 

It is not an easy role – both mentally and in practice. Coming up with a good strategy is hard enough, but doing so when no one understands that this is what you should be doing is much harder. 

Still, I believe there are many things you can do to make it easier. The first thing is to understand that this is your responsibility, even if no one told you so explicitly. Don’t wait to be called upon the job; start doing it now. Make yourself comfortable engaging in discussions that are outside the strict product domain. Ask hard questions. 

One of the reasons the CPO Bootcamp is such a unique program is that the participants get to practice all the aspects of their role – including both professional skills and the variety of the soft and mental skills needed needed to succeed in this amazing yet very challenging role.

Whether you are doing it yourself or as part of the CPO Bootcamp, remember that your role as a product leader is not to lead the company’s product. It is to lead the company through its products, and that’s a huge difference.