Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth

How to unlock your product leadership skills | Ken Norton, Ex-Google

July 24, 2022

AI Summary

5 min read

Ken Norton, former Google product leader on Docs, Calendar, and Maps, now coaches senior product executives. Drawing from his experience and client work, he emphasizes internal mindset shifts over tactics, using analogies like learning to drive or advancing in a video game to explain transitions to senior leadership.

Coaching as inner operating system upgrade

Norton describes executive coaching as a client-led partnership focused on the whole person, not just work skills. Sessions improvise like jazz, using tools such as deep listening, curiosity, and challenging assumptions to connect dots or uncover limiting beliefs. Clients often seek it at career crossroads—like becoming a CPO or switching company sizes—when external advice falls short and internal change is needed. He entered coaching after realizing advice-giving (e.g., at Google Ventures) provides short-term highs but little lasting growth, while helping others unpack purpose does.

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What you'll learn

1 *(00:05:17) **What Executive Coaching Entails & Ken's Path to Coaching**
2 *(00:09:46) **Who Seeks Coaching & Common Triggers**
3 *(00:11:08) **Driving Analogy: Mindset Shifts for Complexity**
4 *(00:15:57) **Creative vs. Reactive Leadership Mindset**
5 *(00:21:55) **Reactive Postures, Blind Beliefs & Unlocks**
6 *(00:33:28) **Coaching vs. Mentoring; Accessibility for All Levels**
7 *(00:43:52) **PM Blind Spots: Prioritizing People Skills**

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Advancing as a product leader requires new skills and a new mindset. Ken Norton is an executive coach who works with some of the top people in product to help them get unstuck and find creativity again in their approach to problems and their careers. After 14 years as a Product Manager at Google, Ken brings deep experience in leadership and shares with us the lessons he most often offers his clients to unlock growth. Join us.

Thank you to our wonderful sponsors for making this episode possible:

• Amplitude: https://amplitude.com/

• Lenny’s Job Board: https://www.lennysjobs.com/talent

• Unit: https://unit.co/lenny

—Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-unlock-your-product-leadership—

Where to find Ken Norton:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/kennethn

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennethnorton/

• Product Leadership Coaching: https://www.bringthedonuts.com/coaching/

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Where to find Lenny:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

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Books and Resources Recommended By Ken:

• Dare To Lead by Brene Brown • 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership • Mastering Leadership by Bob Anderson • Immunity to Change by Robert Kegan • Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome • Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christensen

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In this episode, learn:

[00:00] What to expect in this episode with Ken Norton[03:10] Why Ken will never get tired of donuts[05:05] Ken’s career path and what he does with executive coaching now[08:00] What Ken learned from his own executive coach[12:02] Driving a car and the metaphor of learning a new skill[16:20] How Ken’s helping leaders shift their mindset[19:41] Creative vs reactive leadership mindset[22