The Evolving Role of the Functional Manager with Empowered Teams

If we move to long-lived, decentralised teams, what happens to the functional managers who were leading the functions? People belong to their team now, and not a function anymore so there is no need for resource allocation and budgeting.

Understandably this has gotten a few people worried about their roles. But the truth is the role of a functional manager is changing and for the better. 53% fo the time of a functional manager can be spent on admin work. This is such a huge waste of time and skills for some of the most experienced people in the organisation.

The product model frees functional managers from this admin work and let's them focus on the much higher-leverage and higher-value strategic work. I go into more detail about how the model enables this in my article below.

This Week’s Updates

Enabling the Team

The Evolving Role Of The Functional Manager With Empowered Teams by Rory Madden
By eliminating redundant tasks, decentralising decision-making, and empowering product teams, functional managers can focus on high-leverage activities like strategy, professional development, and long-term growth.

UX Maturity Is A Living System, Not A Ladder by Kate Kaplan
UX maturity isn’t a fixed stage but an evolving system shaped by culture, leadership, and practice. Treating it as dynamic helps organisations adapt and grow rather than chasing rigid checklists.

Product Direction

Empowered For Delivery, But... by John Cutler
Many teams are given freedom to ship but little room to explore whether they’re building the right thing. True empowerment means balancing delivery autonomy with ownership of discovery and outcomes.

The Enshittification Of Products by Janna Bastow
Products often decline as companies prioritise short-term monetisation over long-term user value. Recognising the signs of this “enshittification” cycle helps leaders make choices that preserve trust and sustain product health.

Continuous Research

When Research Participants Aren't Who They Say They Are by Dr Maria Panagiotidi
Participants sometimes give misleading answers to appear helpful or socially acceptable. Recognising these patterns and designing studies that reduce pressure helps researchers capture more authentic insights.

Powering Product Management With Predictive Analytics And AI by Mike Fisher
Integrating predictive analytics and AI-enhanced A/B testing transforms product management, shifting the discipline towards a dynamic, data-driven approach that focuses product development and improvement on the experience of the user.

Continuous Design

Anchoring Bias Shapes User Choices In UX by UX Bulletin
Anchoring bias shapes how users perceive options, often leading them toward the first number or value they see. Recognising and designing for this bias can improve decision-making experiences and reduce unintentional manipulation.

Making Under Finitude: Designing Interactions That Resist Enclosure by Kevin Richard
Design decisions are always made under constraints of time, resources, and knowledge. Embracing these limits as part of the creative process leads to more intentional choices and resilient product strategies.

Continuous Development

Analytics Is Part Of The Feature, Not Separate! by Ant Murphy
Treating analytics as an afterthought weakens product learning. Building measurement into features from the start ensures teams know whether changes deliver value and can iterate with confidence.

The Rise Of "Context Engineering" by Lang Chain
Context engineering is emerging as a core discipline for building effective AI systems. By structuring prompts, memory, and retrieval to deliver the right information at the right time, teams can make AI applications more reliable and useful.

Dublin Joined In On Global Product Week!

Redefining Product Building In The Age Of AI
Dublin, 15 October

Join us in Dublin for an evening of insight and collaboration as part of Global Product Week. Kicking off with a talk by Pooja Dey, Global Product Marketing Director at Sage, going into “From Buyer Journey to Product Investment: How Product Marketing and UX Testing Shape Product Growth”. Learn how to turn customer insights into product strategy, create feedback loops that align marketing, sales, and UX, and use iterative testing to validate propositions before scaling.

Later on the evening we continue with a panel on “Redefining Product Building in the Age of AI”, featuring Amelie Kiefer (Vodafone), Pooja Dey (Sage), Radu Jitea (Granite Digital), and Richard Glynn (EY). Gain practical insights into building products in a world of AI, economic uncertainty, and evolving career paths.

Tickets are free, but registration is required. Reserve your spot today: Book your free ticket here.

FREE COMMUNITY EVENTS 

Check out more upcoming community events 

Video of the Week
From Product to CEO: Leading Beyond Execution

Transitioning from a senior product role to running an entire organization requires more than strategy as it demands new ways of influencing, deciding, and driving impact. Join Rhiannon White, CEO of Clue and former CPO, as she shares her journey from leading product to leading the company.

In this fireside chat, Rhiannon explores the unexpected challenges of stepping into a CEO role, how product thinking shapes company-wide decision-making, and the habits she’s adopted (or shed) to lead effectively. Whether you’re a senior product leader considering the next step or curious about how product experience translates to broader leadership, this session offers candid insights into navigating this career transition successfully 👇

The Results of Last Week’s Poll

The question: Do you agree with my interpretation of a Product Team?

Last week’s poll asked whether our interpretation of a Product Team resonates with you, 56% said yes while 44% found it confusing. It’s a reminder that the term “Product Team” is often misunderstood. It’s not about building features yourself, but it’s about empowering and aligning the Stream Teams that do.

A Product Team’s real job is to create the environment for success: clarifying strategy, setting boundaries, and removing blockers. It ensures that all the Stream Teams work effectively toward a cohesive product vision, and that resources, skills, and priorities are aligned across the organization.

If you want to explore how to structure your teams for maximum impact, my “From a Team of Functions to a Cross-Functional Team” course in Dublin on the 15th of Octoberprovides hands-on strategies to enable cross-functional collaboration, clarify responsibilities, and make your Product Teams truly effective.

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