I want a team that can disagree and still move forward.
Some of my best product decisions started with someone telling me why my first idea would not work. I would much rather hear that early than spend six months building the wrong thing.
I have worked with engineering, design, data science, finance, legal, sales, and executive teams. I have also managed 11 direct reports at City National Bank and directed product work across three development teams at Boeing. I know that alignment is not the same thing as everyone agreeing.
I ask questions. A lot of them. Not because I want to slow people down, but because the cost of misunderstanding the problem is usually much higher than the cost of one more conversation.
Be clear, even when it is uncomfortable
If the scope is too big, the evidence is thin, or a launch is not ready, I will say so and explain why.
Listen to the people doing the work
A salesperson navigating a broken workflow or an engineer maintaining a fragile system usually knows something the roadmap does not.
Make decisions, then follow through
Debate is useful. Endless debate is not. Once we have enough information, I want us to make a call and learn from the result.
Share the win and own the miss
The best outcomes come from teams. I will celebrate their work and take responsibility for my part when something falls short.