If life is a game of chess, what’s your next move?

This article was originally published on Product Coalition

In the Forbes article, Key Predictions For Executive Job Search In 2022, it reminds us that, “Whether executives have chosen to leave or stay, the pandemic has provided senior-level professionals an opportunity to evaluate their long-term career goals and priorities.” This article is good quick read whether you are hiring or seeking a product leadership role internally or externally.

Change is the one thing that’s always coming, it’s the only constant. The best thing you can do for your career is get really good at change. Embrace forward thinking and build the strategic framework today for your next great next.

Forbes

What is the “Next Great Next” For You?

We spend a lot of time planning our products and “what’s next” for them one month, one quarter, one year down the line; doing our best to set our teams and company up for success in achieving those goals.

What’s next for you as a product leader? As you position yourself for your next great next, consider incorporating further leadership development into it if you haven’t already. At the product executive level, it is not as much about your product management ability as it is about your leadership ability.

Due to the pandemic, many more resources and classes have been adapted to the new reality. World-class institutions now offer a complement of live virtual and in-person leadership classes (eg. INSEAD leadership programs, Wharton leadership programs just to name a couple). And there are also offerings with more specific focus, such as INSEAD’s Product Management Executive Programme. And of course, don’t forget to ask your network for advice.

Whether learning through your network or company, self-studying through online opportunities, or taking executive education classes, you have control over the path you take to help get you where you want to go.

If you are looking for more ideas, take a look at Harvard Business Review’s article, Create Learning Pathways to Close Your Organization’s Skills Gap. While it is geared toward people managers, it provides insights into how you could create learning pathways even for yourself, whether you are looking to fill gaps or want to up-level yourself.

Whatever the path you take, treat your own self-development planning with as much care and thought as you do your product planning.