Every Product Leader Should Ask Their Team This

Two days ago, I had the chance to speak at the conference in Germany focused on medical UX. It was great to catch up with professionals from across the field – from fast-moving startups to enterprise-scale companies.

The best part was getting a quick snapshot of the industry from dozens of product and design leaders. And one big pattern stood out: teams still work in silos.

Designers and researchers don’t always talk.

Researchers say they have tons of data – but designers rarely use it. Product managers and engineers often lose context.

It’s a common story. We’ve seen it in startups too. If you stop a random person in your team – designer, engineer, whoever – and ask them what your one-year vision is, there’s a good chance they’ll struggle to answer.

And that’s a problem, because alignment builds motivation.

When everyone knows where to dig, the work goes faster – and in one direction.

So here’s a small check you can try: Ask 3-4 people in your team what they think your product will look like in a year. Listen carefully. The differences might surprise you.

I did this right after the conference with one of the startups we work with – and the answers ranged from “we’re going deeper into B2C” to “we’re pivoting to B2G.”

Turns out, clarity isn’t a given – even in great teams.