What Goes On in a Product Manager's Mind: Loneliness, Empathy & Impostor Syndrome | Maayan Gotlib (Symbol)
Description
Maayan Gotlib — Product Mentor and PM in Residence at VC Symbol, after ten years in Mamram, building two products from scratch at Leverate, and leading the Israeli product team of AutoCAD Mobile at Autodesk — on the emotional side of product management. Instead of roadmaps and prioritization, we talked about what goes on in a product manager's mind and heart: the loneliness no one prepares you for, the impostor syndrome that intensifies exactly when you lead a strategy, empathy as a work tool (not niceness), and the courage to say no without burning the relationship. Maayan also shares the Zero to One Product Club she runs at the fund — intimate groups for first product managers in startups.
Key moments
- 0:44 · What the episode is about: the psychology of product management
- 1:15 · The path: Mamram, Leverate & Autodesk
- 5:05 · A sabbatical year, workaholism & returning part-time
- 10:25 · Zero to One Product Club: groups for first product managers
- 14:25 · The most important skill of a product manager
- 18:53 · Leading without authority & empathy as a work tool
- 27:05 · Loneliness & impostor syndrome
- 31:40 · The courage to say no
- 35:24 · Managing stress: meditation, small wins & humor