Growing Your Reports

A direct report’s profile (their radar in Product Engineer, Product Manager, or Product Designer) is your coaching agenda. Whichever role they are in, the move is almost always the same two, and the mechanism underneath every attribute is the same too.

The Two Moves#

Double down on the spike. The attribute they are already strongest at is usually where their value compounds fastest. Feed it.
Clear the one blocker. Find the single thinnest spoke holding them below their next rung and put real reps there. A rounded-but-flat profile helps no one; do not sand the spikes down to raise the floor everywhere at once.

The Mechanism#

Whichever attribute you are growing, the rep is the same shape: have them apply the next level’s behavior one step earlier than feels comfortable, then close the gap with review. It is the same rule Leading People uses for delegation (delegate one rung past what is comfortable, then close the gap with review) applied to scope instead of a single attribute.

What that rep looks like differs by attribute and by role. Each role doc has its own table: Product Engineer, Product Manager, Product Designer.

Where Growth Goes Exponential#

Early on, you grow a report’s own spokes. Higher up, the move flips: their leverage becomes the judgment, standard, or system they set for everyone else: the seventh attribute (Leverage, Influence, or Leadership, depending on the role) taking over from the other six. That is the difference between adding one person’s output and lifting everyone’s: a lead who raises three engineers a level, or a Principal who lifts the standard for a whole function, has done more than the best individual output ever could.

Keep It Live#

The profile is the spine of the 1:1, revisited each cycle. See Leading People for how to run the conversation, and Performance Review Cycle for how the profile gets scored.