Steps to success: The importance of a clear career path for product managers

The text discusses the challenges of career development for product managers (PMs) due to the subjective nature of their work, which makes it difficult to evaluate performance and provide clear guidance on career progression. Career ladders are proposed as a solution to address this issue by providing a framework for defining expected skills and attributes for each level of PM, making it easier to do fair and consistent performance reviews. The authors share their own approach to creating a career ladder, which includes five skill areas (insights-driven, strategy, execution, driving outcomes, and leadership behaviors), and provide highlights of their thinking for each area. They also mention the importance of ensuring that the ladder is informed by real-world experience rather than theory. Ultimately, the goal is to help PMs navigate their career path in a clear and structured way, providing inspiration for other organizations to create their own career ladders.