How to Onboard Yourself to a New Position

Detailed guide on how to onboard yourself and get the information you need to succeed as a Product Manager.

It's been a while since I've talked about joining a new position. My last post on the subject was based on the amazing guide "Cracking the PM Career" by Jackie Bavaro and Gayle Laakmann. But now that I reread this old post of mine, I realize that I can dig deeper into these tips to even better represent the chaos we face as PMs, and show you the methods that I find useful in getting the the job done.

What you’ll find in this guide:

• The Perfect Onboarding Does Not Exists

  • 🌀 Companies Are in Chaos, PMs Come Into Place

• 90-Day Onboarding Plan in a Breeze

  • 🔍 First 30 Days: Understanding and Immersion

  • 🎯 Next 30 Days: Integration and Planning

  • 🚀 Next 30 Days: Execution and Feedback

• Onboarding Yourself for Success

  • 📖 Conduct Your Own Research

  • 🏁 Set Personal Milestones

  • 💬 Prioritize Relationship Building

  • 📣 Seek Feedback Actively

  • ✨ Initiate Small Projects

  • 🔄 Reflect and Adjust

  • 📝 Extra Tip: Report Your Findings

• How to Get the Information You Need

  • 🎯 Identify the Required Information

  • 📚 Search for Existing Documentation

  • 👤 Identify the Information Owner

  • 🤝 Consult with Peers or Other Levels

  • 📖 Study Material or Learn from Someone

  • ✔️ Evaluate the Adequacy of Information

The Perfect Onboarding Does Not Exists

There is one thing we really believe in as first-time product managers, and that is that when we join a company we will find everything in place so that when it's our turn to take the lead, everything will be perfect.

But the truth is, perfect onboarding does not exist. There will always be challenges, obstacles, and surprises along the way. It's important to have the mindset that you will need to adapt, learn, and grow as you navigate your new role.

Companies Are in Chaos, PMs Come Into Place

It's important to understand that companies are dynamic entities that are constantly evolving and changing. New projects, changes in leadership, shifts in priorities, and unforeseen challenges can all contribute to a sense of chaos within an organization.

Therefore, there are several ways in which a Product Manager can embark on their role within a new company. And, as it wasn't difficult enough, each scenario presents its unique set of challenges and opportunities, requiring a tailored approach to onboarding and integration into the role.

Let's see some examples that come to mind👇

• 👟 Replacing an Existing PM with Overlap: You're stepping into shoes that are still warm, with the outgoing PM available to hand over the reins directly.

• 🎈 Flying Solo Without Overlap: You're the new PM with no immediate predecessor to guide you, stepping into a role that is currently unfilled and without direct handover.

• 🏗️ Foundational PM for a New Product: You're the first PM, setting the groundwork for a brand new product—everything starts from your vision and execution.

• 🛠️ Stepping into a Struggling Project: Taking charge of a product that's facing challenges, either in development, market fit, or within the team, and tasked with turning it around.

• 🔀 Cross-Functional Transition Within the Same Company: Moving from a different role or department (e.g., from a technical, marketing, or sales position) to a PM position within the same company.

• 🤝 Entering Post-Acquisition: Joining a product team that's recently been acquired by or merged with another company, navigating the blending of cultures, expectations, and product visions.

• 🌍 Global Expansion Leadership: Tasked specifically with adapting and growing an existing product for new international markets.

• 🚀 High-Growth Startup: Joining a rapidly scaling startup as a PM, where roles and responsibilities are fluid, and the pace is fast.

• 🔄 Industry Pivot: Joining as a PM but in a completely different industry, applying your transferable skills but learning new domain knowledge.

The list can go on and on. But it doesn't stop there, most of these situations involve you having to deal with a lot of questions and uncertainty, and in some way, you will have to clarify somehow.

Pushing these barriers or obstacles will most likely bring a negative impact for you and the company:

• Longer learning curve leads to slower productivity and potential errors

• Unclear objectives result in misaligned efforts and wasted resources

• Repeated mistakes due to lack of historical insights and knowledge transfer

• Isolation and silos hinder trust and collaboration across teams

• Increased project risk without proper documentation and processes

The outcome of this filter will depend on how well you have been able to adapt and get the information you need to do your job. But knowing how to navigate each unique situation is key.

90-Day Onboarding Plan in a Breeze

While I believe there’s no official rule of why it has to be a 90 days plan, by asking HR and some colleagues, the rationale behind the 90-day timeframe is that it represents a balance between giving a new employee enough time to understand and adapt to a new role or company, without overwhelming them with too much information or responsibility too quickly.

Let’s see in a breeze what this plan is about 👇(keep reading to download your checklist!)

🗓️ First 30 Days: Understanding and Immersion

The initial month should focus on learning the product, understanding the company's culture and organizational structure, and getting to know the teams you'll be interacting with. This is the time to soak up knowledge from orientation materials, team meetings, and one-on-one discussions. It's also a good time to understand the product’s customers and their needs.

🗓️ Next 30 Days: Integration and Planning

As you move into the second month, you should start to apply what you've gathered about the product, industry, customers, and company dynamics to your strategy. Begin to establish short and long-term objectives, identify key performance indicators (KPIs), and understand your product’s place in the wider product portfolio. Start to take on more ownership, actively contribute to meetings, and share your fresh perspective and ideas.

🗓️ Next 30 Days: Execution and Feedback

By the third month, the new product manager should be fully engaged with the execution of planned tasks and be able to take the lead in product strategy. Seek continuous feedback and validate product directions with data and user feedback. Now's the time to display leadership, drive team alignment, make data-driven decisions, and communicate effectively across the organization.

Onboarding Yourself for Success

Of course, full onboarding in any position is an ideal situation, but not all companies can offer it. Personally, I have encountered situations where people don't know how to onboard. They just do busy work and the "training" they will provide is not even useful. Sometimes, all the information relies on a single person who is no longer with the company.

Shreyas Doshi has a great video that reminds me that we are the ones in charge of our leadership, learning and to take action to build a better future.

That's why, self-onboarding as a product manager, particularly in dynamic environments or organizations with less structured onboarding processes, demands proactivity, adaptability, and strategic planning. But hey, isn't that what we already do in this role? 😉

Here’s how you can apply the principles of product management itself to navigate through and accelerate their learning and integration process👇

1️⃣ Conduct Your Own Research

• 🏢 Pre-boarding Learning: Before your official start date, gather as much information as possible about the company, its products, market, competitors, and industry trends.

• 📄 Internal Documentation: Seek out product documentation, past project reports, vision statements, and anything that gives you a clearer picture of what you will be working on.

2️⃣ Set Personal Milestones

Each situation will be unique! Adapt the 30-60-90 day plan to your situation, defining clear goals for yourself in these intervals or the time you agreed with your manager.

Yes, try to communicate your plan with your manager ASAP and let them know you have the control of your own learning. Also, it is very helpful to understand what they expect from you, show your interest of your new position by asking them any of these questions:

• How do you see my role?

• What makes a great PM here?

• How do you see success?

• Do you have any ideas of what I should do in my first 90 days?

• Are there any major deliverables?

• Are there any projects I should start earlier?

• To what extent do you expect me to change things up front or execute current plans?

• Are there any landmines or controversies I should avoid?

• Do you have any ideas for quick deliverables that I can help the team with?

• When will my first feedback or review cycle be? Is there anything specific you would like me to accomplish by then?

3️⃣ Prioritize Relationship Building

• 🔍 Identify Key Stakeholders: Learn who the key stakeholders are for your product early on. Don’t know who they are? Ask your direct manager for some guidance on this. Then plan one-on-ones with them to understand their expectations, concerns, and how your roles intersect.

• 🤝 Build Your Network: Don't limit interactions to your immediate team. Expand your network across the company to different departments since product management often involves cross-functional collaboration.

Great questions that can help you in these conversations are:

1. How would you like to see us work together?

2. What are your expectations for me?

3. Are there things you've liked, or not liked, about working with people in my role before? Do you have any pet peeves?

4. How often would you like to meet?

Personally, is in these introduction calls where I’ve found the most valuable information about the team’s maturity, processes that are not working, biases, even conflicts within colleagues, and much more.

These calls are a great opportunity to cultivate new relationships and unveil the company culture or the tough times people are going through. So don’t skip them!

4️⃣ Seek Feedback Actively

1. 🙋🏻‍♀️ Short Feedback Loops: Setup short, recurring feedback sessions with your manager and peers. This not only helps you adjust your approach if needed but also demonstrates your openness to learning and adapting.

2. 📊 Customer Insights: If possible, get direct feedback from customers to understand their perspective and pain points with the current product offerings.

5️⃣ Initiate Small Projects

1. 🏆 Quick Wins: Identify and execute small projects or improvements that can be achieved relatively quickly. This not only shows initiative but allows you to make tangible contributions early on.

2. 📑 Document Your Learnings and Projects: Keep a record of what you learn every day and the outcomes of any projects you undertake. This documentation can be invaluable for your own reflection and for sharing insights with others.

6️⃣ Reflect and Adjust

Regularly take time to reflect on your progress against your personal onboarding goals. Be prepared to adjust your strategies as you gain more insight into the company’s culture, the product, and how you can best contribute.

💡 Extra Tip: Report Your Findings to Your Direct Manager

One way to show your skills directly to your manager is to communicate the state of things. This is something I do every time and I’ll tell you why it works.

1. Approach to your manager and let them know the current state of the team dynamics, your findings at the moment. This will communicate that you are already detecting gaps and looking for opportunities.

2. Let them know your plan. What are you going to do in the next 90 days to improve communication gaps, processes, and anything else that is harming either the company, team and the product. This communicates that you really care and are willing to take action of it instead of passing by!

3. Finally, at the end let them know how the plan went. The results you have obtained. This is very helpful even for performance management, demonstrates you commitment to the company and confirms that you were the right person to hire.

How to Get the Information You Need

When uncertainty abounds and no one seems to own the information, there’s a simple method or formula that it has worked for me very well. Of course, this requires more calls and you to take the role of a detective of a crime scene, but less dramatic.

To navigate situations like these, here is a structured approach for gathering the necessary information👇

1. Identify the Required Information

• Task: Clearly define the specific information you need. This could range from product details, market analysis, user persona, to company goals and visions.

2. Search for Existing Documentation

• Task: Check all the common sources where documentation might be stored (company intranet, shared drives, project management tools, etc.).

  • ✅ If documentation exists, proceed to study it.

  • ➡️ If no documentation, move to the next step.

3. Identify the Information Owner

• Task: Inquire within your team or related departments if someone owns or has knowledge about the information.

  • ✅ If an owner is identified, request access to relevant materials or for an opportunity to learn from them.

  • ➡️ If no owner is identified, seek assistance from peers regardless of their positions.

4. Consult with Peers or Other Levels

• Task: Reach out to colleagues at various levels (junior, mid, senior) across different departments for leads.

  • ✅ If someone knows, get directed to the right person or resource.

  • ➡️ If no one knows, revisit step 1 to refine what you’re asking for, or explore other channels or departments.

5. Study Material or Learn from Someone

• Task: Once you have the documentation or a mentor, thoroughly study the material or absorb the knowledge shared by the mentor.

  • ➡️ Engage in active learning: take notes, ask questions, and reflect on how it integrates with what you already know.

6. Evaluate the Adequacy of Information

• Task: After studying the material or learning from someone, critically assess if you have enough information to make informed decisions.

  • ✅ If yes, you may now have a sufficient understanding to proceed with confidence.

  • ➡️ If no, return to step 1 and adjust your strategy based on what you’ve learned about where gaps might exist.

Remember, whenever you're about to get the information you need to succeed in the role, you better be like Liam Neeson in the Taken movie.

(I had some fun making this.)

Wrapping Up

Every onboarding process is inherently iterative. As you progress, your understanding of what you need to know will sharpen, and you may discover new areas that require exploration. Keeping an open dialogue with your team and stakeholders, and continuously reflecting on your learning goals will ensure a comprehensive understanding over time.

It can be very overwhelming at first, I know, but keep in mind that this will nurture you until you are ready to blossom as a Product Manager. Oh, and don't forget this too:

• Flexibility and Persistence: Be prepared to circle back through these steps multiple times, especially in environments where information is siloed or not readily accessible.

• Networking and Relationships: Building a strong internal network is as crucial as the information itself. People you connect with during this process can become invaluable resources and allies!

• Documentation: As you accumulate this hard-won knowledge, consider documenting it yourself for future hires, thereby contributing to improving the onboarding process for the next person.

Thank you for reading this guide, I really hope it helps to clarify and make your next position less of a burden and more of an interesting journey. Let me know in the comments how you approached onboarding and what tips you found useful!