What Is Your Product Leadership Archetype?

Building your product leadership profile: Archetype, Superpowers, and more.

Building Your Product Leadership Profile

Ever struggled to explain what makes you unique as a product leader? You're not alone. Whether you're gunning for a VP Product role or eyeing a CPO position, standing out in the crowded field of product leadership can be tough.

This article will help you build a clear picture of your product leadership strengths. We'll dive into a framework that covers your product management leadership archetype, superpowers, expertise areas, and product-culture fit. By the end, you'll have a sharper sense of what sets you apart - and how to position yourself for the right opportunities.

Let’s build your comprehensive product leadership profile.

Table of Contents

1. Product Leadership Archetypes

2. Core Product Management Superpowers

3. Expertise Areas

4. Product Cultures

5. PM Culture Types

6. Synthesizing Your Product Leadership Profile

Take The Product Leadership Archetype Quiz

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Introduction to Archetypes

In product management, archetypes are different styles of leadership. Each archetype has its own strengths, skills, and ideal work environments. Knowing your primary and secondary archetypes can help you understand your natural abilities and areas for improvement. This lesson will help you identify which product leadership archetypes suit you best, so you can clearly communicate your value and find the right fit in a team or organization.

This article expands a framework for product leaders inspired by

Adam Fishman

’s article on PM archetypes,

Nikhyl Singhal

’s work on PM Superpowers, and Reforge’s content on important career profile factors for product managers. Thank you to those creators.

I. Product Leadership Archetypes

As I coach more and more product leaders, I’ve found that there are a consistent set of archetypes. Some have a primary and secondary type. Some layer on superpowers and domain specialties. Some have very different product culture preferences. But we always tend to start with a pretty solid idea of their archetype.

Here is my adapted list of archetypes for product management Directors, VPs, and CPOs.

Growth Driver

• Focus: Scaling products and driving user engagement through data-driven strategies

• Key Skills: Advanced data analysis, A/B testing, user acquisition strategies, funnel optimization, retention modeling, marketing channel optimization, cohort analysis, predictive modeling

• Background: Often from data science, growth marketing, or analytics

• Favorite Metrics: CAC, LTV, retention rates, conversion funnel metrics, virality coefficient

• Ideal Environment: Companies with product-market fit, ready for rapid scaling

• Example: Sarah increased user retention by 40% through cohort analysis and targeted engagement campaigns at a SaaS startup.

• Challenges: Rapid user base expansion, improving key performance metrics, data-driven decision making, identifying and optimizing growth levers

• Blindspots: Prioritizing metrics over user experience, short-term gains over sustainable growth

• Tools: Mixpanel, Amplitude, Optimizely, SQL, growth modeling spreadsheets

UX Innovator

• Focus: Creating intuitive, user-centered product experiences

• Key Skills: User research, prototyping, information architecture, visual design, usability testing, interaction design, accessibility, design thinking

• Background: Often from UX design, interaction design, or cognitive psychology

• Favorite Methods: User interviews, journey mapping, card sorting, usability labs, eye-tracking studies

• Ideal Environment: Companies where product differentiation comes from superior user experience

• Example: Michael increased new user activation by 25% by redesigning an app's onboarding flow.

• Challenges: Solving complex user problems, creating delightful experiences, reducing friction in user journeys

• Blindspots: Over-designing or focusing too much on aesthetics at the expense of functionality or business goals

Internal Scaler

• Focus: Improving internal processes and operational efficiency

• Key Skills: Process optimization, cross-functional collaboration, change management, project management, team productivity tools and methodologies, workflow automation, resource allocation, organizational design

• Background: Often from operations, project management, or business analysis

• Favorite Frameworks: Agile, Lean, Six Sigma, OKRs, RACI matrices

• Ideal Environment: Rapidly growing companies facing operational challenges

• Example: Alex implemented a new project management system that reduced time-to-market by 30%.

• Challenges: Streamlining workflows, improving team productivity, managing complex cross-functional projects

• Blindspots: Focusing too much on process over product outcomes or user needs

General Manager

• Focus: Overall product strategy and P&L responsibility

• Key Skills: Strategic planning, financial management, leadership and team building, market analysis, stakeholder management, business model innovation, portfolio management, risk assessment and mitigation

• Background: Often MBA, management consulting, or business operations

• Favorite Metrics: Revenue, profit margins, market share, customer lifetime value, return on investment

• Ideal Environment: Established companies with multiple product lines

• Example: Jamie led a product division to 50% year-over-year growth by realigning the product portfolio with market demands.

• Challenges: Setting long-term vision, managing complex product ecosystems, balancing multiple stakeholder needs

• Blindspots: Being too removed from day-to-day product development or user needs

Commercial Leader

• Focus: Driving revenue growth and market expansion

• Key Skills: Go-to-market strategy, pricing and packaging, sales enablement, competitive analysis, partnership development, market segmentation, channel strategy, customer relationship management

• Background: Often from sales, marketing, or business development

• Favorite Activities: Pricing strategy, sales pipeline analysis, market sizing, competitor benchmarking

• Ideal Environment: Companies looking to monetize or expand market share

• Example: Casey developed a new pricing model that increased ARPU by 35%.

• Challenges: Identifying new revenue streams, optimizing pricing strategies, aligning product with sales goals

• Blindspots: Prioritizing short-term revenue gains over long-term product health or user satisfaction

Product Optimizer

• Focus: Continuously improving existing products

• Key Skills: Feature prioritization, A/B testing and experimentation, incremental innovation, user feedback analysis, performance optimization, technical debt management, product analytics, customer support integration

• Background: Often from product management, UX research, or data analysis

• Favorite Methods: Feature impact assessment, user surveys, usage analytics, customer feedback loops

• Ideal Environment: Companies with established products seeking ongoing improvement

• Example: Taylor increased product usage by 20% through targeted feature enhancements based on user feedback and behavior analysis.

• Challenges: Identifying and fixing pain points, optimizing user flows, balancing new features with performance

• Blindspots: Focusing too much on incremental improvements at the expense of disruptive innovation

Technician

• Focus: Managing complex technical products or platforms

• Key Skills: Technical architecture understanding, API design and management, system integrations, performance optimization, security and compliance knowledge, database design, scalability planning, DevOps practices

• Background: Often from software engineering or systems architecture

• Favorite Challenges: Solving complex technical problems, optimizing system performance, designing scalable architectures

• Ideal Environment: Companies building technical products or platforms

• Example: Sam led the development of a new API that enabled 100+ new integrations.

• Challenges: Bridging technical and business requirements, managing complex technical dependencies

• Blindspots: Prioritizing technical elegance over user needs or business goals

Zero-to-One Innovator

• Focus: Creating entirely new products or entering new markets

• Key Skills: Market validation, rapid prototyping, vision setting, risk management, storytelling and evangelism, design thinking, lean startup methodologies, disruptive innovation theories

• Background: Often from entrepreneurship, R&D, or innovation labs

• Favorite Activities: Ideation workshops, MVP development, pitch presentations, trend analysis

• Ideal Environment: Startups, innovation-focused companies

• Example: Jordan launched a new product category in the IoT space, generating $10M in first-year revenue.

• Challenges: Identifying unmet market needs, creating disruptive solutions, navigating high uncertainty

• Blindspots: Underestimating operational challenges of scaling or maintaining a product post-launch

New Market-Fit Expander

• Focus: Adapting existing products for new markets or use cases

• Key Skills: Market research, product localization, use case expansion, cultural sensitivity, adaptability, international business practices, regulatory compliance across markets, cross-cultural communication

• Background: Often from international business, product marketing, or anthropology

• Favorite Methods: Market segmentation, user persona development, cultural analysis, localization testing

• Ideal Environment: Companies looking to expand into new markets or verticals

• Example: Charlie adapted a B2C product for B2B use, opening up a new $50M market.

• Challenges: Identifying product-market fit in new contexts, balancing core product integrity with local needs

• Blindspots: Overestimating the transferability of product success across markets

Question for Your Profile: Which two archetypes do you most identify with? Choose your primary and secondary archetype.

II. Core Product Management Superpowers

Product management superpowers refer to the unique strengths and skills that a product manager brings to the table. These superpowers can greatly influence how a product manager approaches their role, solves problems, and drives product success. Understanding your superpowers can help you leverage them effectively in your career, ensuring that you are playing to your strengths and continuously developing areas that are crucial for your growth as a product leader.

Source: The Skip: 6 superpowers to seek out as a PM by Nikhyl Singhal

Superpower 1: Product Crafting

• Description: Creating innovative, user-centric products that solve real problems

• Key Skills: Feature specification and prioritization, product vision and roadmapping, UX design principles, prototyping and iteration, user story development, product requirements documentation, balancing user needs with business goals, cross-functional collaboration in product development

• How It Manifests: PMs with this superpower excel at turning abstract ideas into concrete product features. They have a keen sense of what makes a product intuitive and valuable to users. They can articulate a clear product vision and translate it into actionable steps for development teams.

Superpower 2: Growth Expertise

• Description: Scaling products and driving user acquisition and engagement

• Key Skills: Data analysis and interpretation, growth modeling and forecasting, A/B testing and experimentation, user acquisition strategies, retention and engagement tactics, funnel optimization, viral loop design, marketing channel optimization

• How It Manifests: PMs with this superpower are adept at identifying growth levers and designing experiments to optimize key metrics. They have a deep understanding of user behavior and can develop strategies to rapidly scale user bases while maintaining engagement.

Superpower 3: Organizational Expertise

• Description: Managing complex, cross-functional projects and processes

• Key Skills: Stakeholder management, process optimization, change management, project management, cross-functional collaboration, organizational design, conflict resolution, resource allocation

• How It Manifests: PMs with this superpower are adept at navigating complex organizational structures and aligning diverse teams towards common goals. They can design and implement efficient processes that improve overall product development and delivery.

Superpower 4: Team Expertise

• Description: Building and leading high-performing product teams

• Key Skills: Hiring and talent assessment, mentoring and coaching, performance management, team culture development, conflict resolution, agile team management, fostering innovation and creativity, building diverse and inclusive teams

• How It Manifests: PMs with this superpower excel at assembling diverse, talented teams and fostering a positive team culture. They can identify and develop individual strengths, manage conflicts effectively, and create an environment where team members can do their best work.

Question for Your Profile: Which two superpowers do you feel are your strongest? Choose your primary and secondary superpower.

III. Expertise Areas

Identifying your areas of expertise is crucial for tailoring your job search, enhancing your resume, and excelling in interviews. This section will help you pinpoint your experience and strengths across various markets, business models, industry verticals, and technologies. By reflecting on these areas, you can better align your career path with your unique skills and knowledge, ensuring you are positioned for success in roles that best fit your expertise. Use this insight to highlight your strengths in your resume, articulate your value in interviews, and target job opportunities that align with your background and interests.

Markets:

1. B2B (Business-to-Business)

2. B2C (Business-to-Consumer)

3. B2B2C (Business-to-Business-to-Consumer)

4. C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer)

5. D2C (Direct-to-Consumer)

Business Models:

1. SaaS (Software as a Service)

2. Marketplace

3. E-commerce

4. Subscription

5. Freemium

6. Ad-supported

Industry Verticals:

1. FinTech

2. HealthTech

3. EdTech

4. E-commerce

5. AdTech

6. PropTech

7. AgTech

8. CleanTech

9. Social Networking

10. Gaming

Technologies:

1. Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning

2. Blockchain / Cryptocurrency

3. Internet of Things (IoT)

4. Cloud Computing

5. Augmented Reality / Virtual Reality (AR/VR)

6. 5G and Edge Computing

7. Cybersecurity

8. Big Data Analytics

9. Robotics and Automation

10. Quantum Computing

Questions for Your Profile:

1. Which 1-2 markets do you have the most experience in?

2. Which 1-2 business models are you most familiar with?

3. Which 1-2 industry verticals do you have expertise in?

4. Which 0-2 technologies do you have deep knowledge of?

IV. Product Cultures

Understanding the culture of a product team or organization is crucial for aligning your personal strengths and working style with your work environment. Different product cultures emphasize various aspects of product development, from technical innovation to user experience and data-driven decision making. Identifying the type of product culture you thrive in can help ensure you are in an environment that best supports your growth and success.

These were drawn from

Sachin Rekhi

’s famous post on the topic.

Source: Sachin Rekhi

Summary of Product Cultures

Source: Sachin Rekhi

Engineering-Driven Culture

• Characteristics: Focus on technical innovation and problem-solving, products often start with a unique technical insight, high value placed on engineering talent and technical skills, decision-making often based on technical feasibility and elegance

• Strengths: Ability to create technically superior products, strong focus on solving complex technical challenges, often leads to breakthrough innovations

• Challenges: Prioritizing technical solutions over user needs, struggling with non-technical products or markets, risk of over-engineering solutions

• Examples: Google, Microsoft, Dropbox

• PM Role: Need to be technically proficient, focus on translating technical capabilities into user value, balance technical ambition with market realities and user needs

• Signals in Job Descriptions: Emphasis on technical skills or engineering background, mentions of working closely with engineering teams, focus on technical problem-solving

Data-Driven Culture

• Characteristics: Heavy reliance on metrics and A/B testing for decision-making, strong focus on optimization and incremental improvements, product decisions often based on quantitative analysis

• Strengths: Ability to rapidly iterate and improve products based on user behavior, clear definition of success through measurable metrics, reduced reliance on individual opinions for decision-making

• Challenges: Risk of short-term focus at the expense of long-term vision, struggling with decisions that can't be easily quantified, potential for over-optimization leading to local maxima

• Examples: Facebook, LinkedIn, Zynga

• PM Role: Need strong analytical skills and comfort with data interpretation, focus on defining and tracking relevant metrics, balance data-driven decisions with qualitative insights and long-term strategy

• Signals in Job Descriptions: Emphasis on analytical skills and data interpretation, mentions of A/B testing and experimentation, focus on metrics and KPIs

Design-Driven Culture

• Characteristics: Strong emphasis on user experience and aesthetic quality, products often differentiated by superior design and usability, high value placed on design talent and user research

• Strengths: Ability to create intuitive, delightful user experiences, often leads to strong brand loyalty and emotional connection with users, can revolutionize existing markets through superior UX

• Challenges: Prioritizing form over function, decision-making can be subjective and rely heavily on "taste", struggling with highly technical or backend-focused products

• Examples: Apple, Airbnb, Snapchat

• PM Role: Need strong understanding of design principles and user-centered thinking, focus on facilitating collaboration between design and other functions, balance design ambition with technical feasibility and business goals

• Signals in Job Descriptions: Emphasis on user experience and design thinking, mentions of working closely with design teams, focus on creating intuitive and delightful products

Sales-Driven Culture

• Characteristics: Strong focus on meeting customer demands and closing deals, product roadmap often influenced by sales pipeline and customer requests, high value placed on customer relationships and sales expertise

• Strengths: Close alignment with customer needs and market demands, ability to rapidly respond to customer feedback, often leads to strong customer loyalty and high retention

• Challenges: Building one-off solutions for specific customers, struggling with long-term product vision and coherence, risk of feature bloat and increased product complexity

• Examples: Salesforce, Oracle, Workday

• PM Role: Need strong communication skills and ability to manage customer expectations, focus on balancing individual customer needs with broader market demands, translate customer requests into scalable product features

• Signals in Job Descriptions: Emphasis on customer relationship management, mentions of working closely with sales teams, focus on enterprise or B2B products

Vision-Driven Culture

• Characteristics: Strong emphasis on long-term vision and transformative ideas, products often aim to create new categories or disrupt existing markets, high value placed on innovation and big-picture thinking

• Strengths: Ability to create revolutionary products, often leads to strong market positioning and thought leadership, can attract top talent excited by ambitious goals

• Challenges: Losing touch with current market realities, struggling with execution of day-to-day product development, resource strain if vision is too ambitious

• Examples: Tesla, SpaceX, early Amazon

• PM Role: Need strong strategic thinking and ability to translate vision into actionable plans, focus on balancing visionary goals with practical execution, communicate and rally teams around long-term objectives

• Signals in Job Descriptions: Emphasis on strategic thinking and vision setting, mentions of disruptive or category-creating products, focus on long-term impact and innovation

V. PM Culture Types

Building on the understanding of product cultures, PM culture types delve into the specific dynamics of how product managers influence and interact within their teams and organizations. Recognizing the PM culture type that best matches your working style can further enhance your effectiveness and satisfaction in your role.

Shreyas Doshi

came up with this framework, but I find it is useful for further assessing the fit for a company and product org. This distinction is primarily used to pattern match where you have thrived and where you have struggled in your career. Most will say that PM-Guided Culture is ideal, but I have found many PMs who thrive in a PM-Dominated Culture or PM-Serviced Culture, regardless of the trade-offs for those organizations cross-functionally.

Summary of PM Culture Types

Source: Shreyas’ great video on the topic

PM Culture Types (based on Shreyas Doshi's framework):

1. PM Dominated Culture

   • PMs have high influence regardless of competence level

   • Other functions may be treated more as "resources"

   • PM title carries significant weight in decision-making

2. PM Guided Culture

   • High-competence PMs have high influence, low-competence PMs have less

   • Merit-based rather than title-based decision-making

   • Balanced input from different functions

3. PM Serviced Culture

   • PMs have low to medium influence regardless of competence

   • Another function (often engineering or sales) is primary decision-maker

   • PMs primarily support the dominant function

Question for Your Profile: Which product culture and PM culture type do you think you'd thrive in most? Choose one of each.

VI. Synthesizing Your Product Leadership Profile

Instructions: Fill out the "Your Answer" column with the options that best describe your profile.

Based on this profile, craft a brief (3-5 sentences) product leadership statement that encapsulates your unique blend of archetypes, superpowers, and expertise.

Example: "I am a Growth Driver with strong UX Innovator tendencies, excelling in Product Crafting and Growth Expertise. My experience spans B2C and B2B2C markets, with deep knowledge of subscription and marketplace business models in the FinTech and HealthTech verticals. I thrive in data-driven product cultures where PMs are guided by merit-based influence, allowing me to leverage my analytical skills and user-centric approach to drive product success."

This comprehensive profile will serve as a powerful tool in your job search and career development. Use it to target roles that align with your strengths, articulate your value in interviews, and identify areas for future growth and development.

Homework Instructions

1. Take the Quiz:

   • Complete the quiz to help identify your PM archetype, superpowers, and preferred cultures.

   • Use the insights from the quiz as a guide for the following steps.

2. Identify Your Personal PM Leader Archetype & Profile:

   • Review the descriptions of different PM archetypes.

   • Choose your primary and secondary archetype.

   • Answer the question: Which two archetypes do you most identify with?

3. Determine Your Core Product Management Superpowers:

   • Review the descriptions of different PM superpowers.

   • Choose your primary and secondary superpower.

   • Answer the question: Which two superpowers do you feel are your strongest?

4. Identify Your Expertise Areas:

   • Review the different markets, business models, industry verticals, and technologies.

   • Choose your areas of expertise:

     • 1-2 markets

     • 1-2 business models

     • 1-2 industry verticals

     • 0-2 technologies

   • Answer the corresponding questions for each category.

5. Understand Your Preferred Product Culture:

   • Review the descriptions of various product cultures.

   • Choose the product culture you thrive in most.

   • Answer the question: Which product culture do you think you'd thrive in most?

6. Identify Your Preferred PM Culture Type:

   • Review the descriptions of PM culture types.

   • Choose the PM culture type that best matches your working style.

   • Answer the question: Which PM culture type do you think you'd thrive in most?

7. Synthesize Your Product Leadership Profile:

   • Fill out the provided table with your chosen options for each section:

     • Primary Archetype

     • Secondary Archetype

     • Primary Superpower

     • Secondary Superpower

     • Market Expertise

     • Business Model Expertise

     • Industry Vertical Expertise

     • Technology Expertise

     • Preferred Product Culture

     • Preferred PM Culture Type

   • Craft a brief (3-5 sentences) product leadership statement based on your profile.