I often work closely with companies transitioning to or strengthening their culture to product-led principles and ways of working.
Typically, I help them understand the need for transition, its implications, and the very messy details of making the transition successfully.
Occasionally I also step in as the interim Chief Product Officer, preparing the ground for permanent hires.
An essential part of my job is to help build and refine the product org, which includes interviewing Product Managers, Senior PMs, and CPO candidates.
To test the level to which they've truly internalized the concept of product-led ways of working, I will regularly ask the following question:
"Enterprise sales and large partnerships can often create a lot of thrash for R&D teams. They often come with a diverse range of feature requests, demands, and even contractual obligations that can derail roadmaps. How do you think about minimizing or even mitigating this kind of thrash?"
Many fall back on a standard answer: Maintaining strong relationships, regularly meeting with sales, and proactively understanding customer needs to manage requests effectively.
This is a good answer.
But it's essentially wrong for a product-led company.
A good product leader at a product-led company does not MANAGE inbound requests from Sales and Partnerships - hoping to effectively build what's been sold in the most efficient and generalized way.
A good product leader at a product-led company CONTROLS inbound requests by ensuring that the Sales and Partnerships teams are selling the product they're actually building.
They ensure that sales and partnership activities align with the existing product strategy and roadmap, not the other way around. This involves defining the right customer and partner profiles, specifying specific use cases, crafting a forward-looking roadmap, and equipping the sales team to attract the right kind of clients for their current product, not hypothetical future versions.
It's rare for candidates to nail this perspective, but when they do, it's a strong indicator of their fit for a product-led company, especially for senior roles.