At Amazon. Reorg gave me a new boss. Boss has no experience in either Product Mgmt or Engineering. What possibly can I learn from them? Maybe people management? Not something I want to . Should I leave ? What would you guys do? I joined Amazon to be better at Product Management but if I don't learn from experienced Product leaders, I am starting to consider leaving

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Sounds like you are looking for a mentor, not a boss.

Your mentor doesn’t need to be in the same group / team or even the same company.

Some of the best bosses I had didn’t know how to do what I did. They unblocked me from doing what I needed to do, and they helped me identify who I could talk to in order to learn about things I didn’t know.

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This just happened to me, but I believe my new manager is a unique leader. He is actively providing education for the product management orgs outside the company (ie reforge), and takes a “people first” approach. He looks to me for product management processes and functionally decisions, but provides a shit shield on the RHINOs above us.

Have seen this a couple of times. Although the outlook isn’t rosy, it is still possible for you to learn from them.

I’d recommend for you to have a close look at yourself first, and then your boss. Identify what are your strengths and weaknesses, and also try to identify their strengths and weaknesses. Maybe they are really good at “navigating the org” coughpoliticscough or maybe they are great at motivating people or designing orgs - there’s almost always something you can learn from them. It might not be WHAT you wanted to learn initially, but HOW MUCH you learn is completely in your control and not theirs.

Even if they are completely inept (possible, but less likely than you might initially think), then you can learn from their mistakes. Pay close attention so that you don’t make them when it’s your turn.

Last, if possible, have an open conversation with your boss. They might be nervous about their lack of product / Engg experience and might welcome your partnership and help. Of course don’t do it in a condescending manner, but ask them how best YOU can support them, and then over deliver.

You might be surprised at the outcomes.

“When life gives you lemonade, make lemons. Life will be all WHOA” - Phil Dunphy

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Empathy with the boss is a critical skill.

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Usurp him 👌🏻

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Nahh lol

This seems to be a trend in a lot of companies, everyone is trying to move into product and switching their career path to PM with no previous experience.

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So why would us PMs be expected to have experience while the bosses are moving to product with no experience??? 😭 Just saying….

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This happened to me (and I was even actively going for the position). Turns out she was an extremely thoughtful leader with lots for me to learn on so many parts of the PM skillset. Give him/her a chance, and look elsewhere for functional coaching: leverage your peers, take a course, and get some mentors inside or outside your org. If it takes a turn for the worse look for new opportunities.

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You are looking for a mentor. Find a L7 PM-T in your group who can help you. Your manager may just be a people manager hence, use that to your advantage. Amazon is still the best place to gain product management muscle compared to other FAANG, if your goal is to be an exec later.

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Curiously Amazon problem , I find myse doing Program Management tasks such as

1. - just getting engineers to talk to each other to solve a deeply technical issue, nothing to do with talking to customers or generating and socialising customer insight . I am asked to.schedule meetings between engineers. Can I just say "not my job" in a polite but firm way ? Or am I not understanding the role right ?

2. Running the day to day of in flight projects , getting.updates, reporting status updates. My litmus test for product management role was that as a PM I am working on things that my Engg team may work on 3-6 months down the line (problem discovery, customer interviews , ). For soon to be released projects and features , I want to doing product marketing since there is no marketing function but I find my time consumed with just doing project management for in flight projects . I am very surprised that this is what PMs at Amazon do.

I think you should atleast give the person some time before making any hasty moves.

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Your manager isn't the only person you can learn from in your job. So is the real issue that you don't respect them? Your ego is hurting but is this a good reason to leave a job? Managers come and go.

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Is it possible to move to a different org ??

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