Fractional Product Leadership
I take on fractional product leadership for the right project and team where there is a good mutual fit. Alongside coaching and training, I love getting hands on and collaborating with a shared sense of purpose.
I’ll also take on one off projects or consultancy work if it’s interesting, I’m a good fit and I have time.
What is the right project?
I’m interested in working EdTech startups that are focused on impact, have already got some traction and are looking for help to find product-market fit.
They’ve probably got an interesting insight into the space they're operating in, have some initial customers/users/learners and have identified a need. The founder may be wondering about whether they need to bring in a product person to bring more structure and what that would look like…
I also like working with established organisations that need help doing something new.
This could be creating a new product or programme within an established context where there is a desire to do things differently, in a more modern, user-centric way and there’s a willingness to ‘break the rules’.
Most of my experience is around adult/lifelong learning and (innovative) higher education but I’m interested in applying product thinking to learning more broadly.
Examples of the organisations I have done fractional product leadership roles for include The London Interdisciplinary School, a new challenger university organised around problems not subjects and Zinc Ventures, to create a fellowship platform to support experience professionals explore and experiment their way to more impactful careers, Mastered to design new apprenticeship programmes for game design and virtual production.
Examples of organisations I’ve done project work for:
OpenClassrooms: supporting them to rearticulating their product vision and working with their CPO to design their new product team organisation.
The V&A Academy: discovery work to select a new online learning platform.
QAHE: review of their online delivery capabilities and strategy.
What can I offer?
Here are some examples of some of the things I can help with:
Product strategy: product-market fit diagnosis and what to focus on next.
Continuous product discovery: customer interviews, prototyping and running Minimum Viable Tests to continually improve your product.
Growing teams and organisational design to create productive, proactive and happy teams, focused on outcomes.
Setting up and coaching product teams on how to apply the product methodology well in a learning context.
How to respond strategically to new investment.
I’m experienced at working in early-stage environments and comfortable at adapting to whatever needs doing to achieve the next outcome.
Alongside this people tell me that I come across as calm, empathetic, deeply knowledgeable about the learning/technology space and an experienced ‘grown up in the room’.
How do I work?
I normally take on fractional work for 2-3 days per week alongside my coaching and training work.
I like to make sure that there are clear goals and we’re clear what success looks like and how I can provide value.
We can get started with a defined short term project to see if there’s a good mutual fit.
In terms of time, I can be flexible around the needs of the organisation, but I like to create clear blocks to properly focus on different problems and avoid context switching.
Ultimately, doing product work well is all about humans. I strive to help organisations work in the best possible way but am also understanding and pragmatic. Being a purist doesn’t help create impact.
If you think there could be a good fit, get in touch. I’m always up for an initial chat with no commitment.