So, I am not a natural people person. I enjoy being around people who I know. I enjoy working in close collaboration and bouncing ideas off one another. But this is always serving something product or work related. So there are days where I spent most of my working hours in a status call or getting in new info for product work. 

My team is currently in crunch mode, so we tend to minimize distractions for them and I don’t want to negate that promise by making them take on optional meetings and calls. So I take them. Many.

One of these days, I found myself in 14 meetings and work piling up for the evening and for the next day. My family makes sure I spend my evenings with them – and I gladly do.

The problem with that approach: I am losing clarity – and on some days, I feel like I am using my mind. I can take more of these assaults on the mind than my team, that’s why I volunteered. But still, I feel the toll. At the end of the day, I do not want to meet any more people. Parent-teacher meetings, soccer games with soccer moms and dads small talk calls, and I would rather not go. 

So, how do I stay sane?

I usually choose to decompress in my safe spaces – with my family, working out at home, running on the little river island nearby. 

So then I heard the episode of Lenny’s podcast with Gustav Söderström, C-level manager at Spotify, and the feedback the team gave him: You bring energy and clarity to the team.

And that reminded me of what is one of the most important things leaders can do for their team. They need to bring clarity and vision to the team. I usually call it context, but the gist is the same.

Leaders have more data and nuggets of information because they see a bigger picture of the company and the industry. And they need to funnel this through their data processing systems and then ingest it into their team, in digestible pieces. 

And this is why I am incredibly excited to be going to Hamburg in June for the inaugural Product at Heart Conference where I will be meeting my tribe – product practitioners and leaders – and be comparing notes. And clarity is big on the agenda.

1. Providing Directional Clarity to the people around you

2. Finding Clarity of Thought for yourself

Images: all created by Midjourneys on prompts