Kate Leto’s Post

After my new 2h masterclass session 🎯 Essential Coaching Skills for Product Leaders, 🎯 you'll walk away with a clear understanding of what coaching is and isn’t, be confident asking open-ended questions and recieve feedback and guidance to help you progress with your coaching skills. The session will be held on May 22nd and is available for two different time zones, US and UK/EU. Please get in touch for more information I've added links in the comments.

🚀Setting the record straight on managing up. It’s time to call a spade, a spade. When we talk about "managing up," it often boils down to one thing: how can I impress my boss and keep them happy? It's about those weekly updates, the project status chats, and always bringing solutions, not just problems. But what if there's another way? Read on in this week's #Product Leadership Essentials newsletter to find out more. 👇 #managingup #coachingskills

Have you heard of the 'Johari window'? it's a tool that I use to facilitate constructive feedback in coaching. A concept created in 1955 by American psychologists Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham (aka Johari), this simple tool helps others see who you think you are and how you see yourself. Try the Johari Window with your team: 1. Pick five or six adjectives from a list that you feel describes your own personality (you can use the list in the article below 👇 ). 2. Select three to five people you work with to also pick five or six adjectives to represent you. 3. Once you receive all the feedback, place it in the appropriate area of the “window.” It’s interesting to repeat this exercise at different phases of your team’s development — be it forming, storming, norming, or performing. I've written more about it in my blog, and I've linked to it in the comments below.

If you are passionate about building high-performing product teams, my book "Hiring Product Managers" will be the perfect go-to resource to help you on your journey. Discover how to combine technical expertise with essential human skills, enabling you to drive innovation, collaboration, and organizational success. Get yours here ⬇️

The word "alignment" has got to be the winner of buzzword bingo these days. "Let’s get aligned on our priorities our next steps, our big bets, our strategy."  "Are we aligned on the criteria for our new hire?" In coaching sessions I hear the word a lot when things aren’t going well. "I’m not aligned with my boss and it’s creating havoc in our relationship." "The organisation isn’t aligned on our mission or goals and we’re all going in different directions." These descriptions remind me of when a car is out of alignment. It might feel like your being pulled one direction or another, but nothing feels quite right. As a leader, creating alignment is a big part of your job. It's up to you to ensure that everyone is facing the same direction. Going at the same pace. Checking in on progress and outcomes. But in our drive to create strong alignment we often get caught up in the moment and instead aim for total agreement or consensus.  There's a big difference between alignment and agreement! Getting alignment means there's consent to ______ (could be a decision, direction, strategy, OKR, you name it.) In Amazon’s leadership principles it’s referred to as Disagree and Commit. Everyone may not be 100% in agreement, but "once a decision is determined, they commit wholly." They are aligned. So, how do we get alignment? It's all about curiosity, active listening, asking questions, and flexing those influence muscles – skills I delve into deeply in my Essential Coaching Skills Masterclass. Want to learn more? Check out the links below. 🚀 #Alignment #Leadership #CoachingSkills #EssentialSkills

By mastering the art of coaching, you'll not only gain a clear understanding of effective leadership but also cultivate engaged and empowered team members. Imagine the impact of having a team that acts autonomously, making decisions with resilience and confidence. That's the ✨ power of coaching.✨ That's why I am offering a masterclass version of Essential Coaching Skills for Product Leaders. The session will be a 2-hour and will be available for multiple timezones, US and UK/EU. I've linked both options in the comments. In the meantime, if you have any questions pop them in the comments below or DM me, always happy to help. #coachingskills #leadership #product

"Change how you work. Change how you think. Change how you look. Change how you feel. Change how you act." We've all heard these mantras, often touted as the keys to success. But is change truly the answer to all our challenges? What if, instead of striving for wholesale transformation, we aimed for range? Range implies versatility, adaptability, and the ability to navigate diverse situations. It's about expanding our skill set, refining our approach, and embracing diversity in thought and action. Rather than discarding everything we know, let's focus on adding range to our toolkit. Let's leverage our existing strengths while exploring new methods and perspectives. So, the next time you hear the call to change, consider the power of range. It's not about starting from scratch—it's about broadening our horizons and embracing the full spectrum of possibilities.

🕰️ "I just don't have time to think." 🕰️ It's a common refrain in my coaching sessions lately. In a world where our schedules are overflowing and our attention is constantly divided, carving out time for thinking about the big decisions that we need to make or crucial conversations that we need to have can feel like an impossible task. In my latest newsletter article 👇 I dig into the narratives that we weave around the scarcity of thinking time and share how some of my clients are breaking through the noise to find time to think in a way that works for them. Happy reading! 📖 #TimeToThink #CoachingInsights #LeadershipCoaching

How can practical coaching skills make you a better product leader? Find out in this hands-on masterclass, Essential Coaching Skills for Product Leaders. In the 2-hour session, we’ll focus on answering three questions: - What do we mean by “coaching”? - How can a coaching approach change your leadership style? - What is it about asking open-ended questions that makes all the difference? By the end of this course, you’ll: ✅ Have a clear understanding of what coaching is and isn’t. ✅ Be more comfortable asking open-ended questions instead of jumping to offer solutions. ✅ Receive live feedback and guidance to help you progress your coaching skills. I’m offering two different sessions, one that is US time-zone friendly and the second for those in UK/EU time zones. Both will be held on May 22nd. 📅 Click on the links in the comments 👇 for full description and to register in the course that works best for you. #coaching skills #masterclass #productleaders

If you’re feeling stifled by the lack of leadership diversity within your organization, you can also look outside for inspiration. One way to do this is to bring in a coach. Coaches can help you explore your leadership edges and provide a different perspective on the problems you face. I offer 1-1 coaching for Product Leaders/Executives, whether you've recently taken on a new role or facing some new challenges, I'm here to help.