Performance

Most leadership advice pushes you to do more: More clarity.More delegation.More velocity. But doing more doesn’t help when you’re solving the wrong problem. You don’t need more output. You need a better diagnosis. Great leaders don’t just lead well. They know exactly where they’re stuck. That’s what makes forward movement possible. It took me months to […]

They told me I’d be fine in 72 hours. It took 3 years. Two prescription pills triggered a brain injury that turned my world sideways. Doctors called it a rare side effect. They said the symptoms would fade once the drugs were out of my system. They were wrong. Progress during my recovery came unpredictably: […]

You know you need to innovate faster, but you feel trapped in systems that demand certainty for breakthrough decisions. What’s worse, these systems were built with the best intentions and stifle breakthrough innovation while keeping people feeling productive and responsible. I’ve seen this play out in my own teams, and in dozens of leaders I’ve […]

Most product leaders think their job is to have answers. It’s not. Your real job is to ask better questions: the kind that unlock ideas your team hasn’t thought of yet. You’ll hear some version of ‘test your ideas’ from entrepreneurs, scientists, and product leaders alike. It can come in many forms: Different voices. Same […]

You don’t need more time, you need better rhythm. Your product team has all the necessary meetings, and yet you’re always scrambling. 1:1 meetings only happen when you can find the time. Strategic thinking gets pushed aside by urgent requests. You’re shipping, sure. But it feels chaotic and disconnected from the customer. And deep down, […]

Picture this scene: And yet… You’re staring at your dashboard, wondering if any of this actually moved the needle on breakthrough impact. When I created a new category in scholarly metrics at Plum Analytics, we faced a measurement problem most product leaders never encounter: How do you track progress toward something that’s never existed before? […]

Today, I’m giving you diagnostic tools to assess whether your current rhythms are actually working or secretly undermining your team’s effectiveness. Is Your Rhythm Working?5 Critical Questions Most teams think they have good rhythm because they have regular meetings. But having meetings and having effective rhythm are completely different things. Use these questions to assess […]

This lovely question was once asked of me when I was most vulnerable as a leader. In this issue of Leadership Advantage, we will talk a little about the underbelly of all success → failure. – Andrea Leadership Story: So, how does it feel to fail? It was January 2001. The first Monday after the […]

Leadership where you least expect it This issue I wanted to explore is how we often become leaders when we least expect it. I start off with my coming-of-age story of being ripped from the keyboard and asked to lead for the first time. I also wanted to talk a bit about the areas in […]

Nothing screams 'successful team' like a well-oiled rhythm. But how do you create it? Having led numerous teams that excelled in delivering products throughout my career, I want to share the structure that will help you get a solid start. 👇 First and foremost, as a leader, it is important to think through what needs […]

Remote teams are here to stay. I have been leading distributed product dev teams since 2001. Here are 10 leadership tips on how to optimize your remote team. Learn how often to meet face to face, and when to not meet at all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq5C3lz-0fw Summary 1️⃣ Think through the rhythm of the team. What needs […]

Making incremental progress towards a long-term goal often goes without notice. However, building a pattern of consistently communicating about progress can both motivate your team as well as give others visibility into your team's successes. These short-term wins can anchor the change you are trying to work towards. A Simple Example of Capturing Short-Term Wins […]