As product management professionals, we often hear how we are "mini-CEO's" and "de-facto leaders". But what does this really mean? And how does this really work?

I think a better categorization is being an owner.

Owners think about ideas and solutions from the lens of the greater good for the company. Owners understand budgets, tradeoffs, and future-proofing. Owners think through their decisions, and plan for secondary and tertiary outcomes, and are not results oriented. They will be collaborative and inclusive, while still making hard (and sometimes unpopular) decisions for the greater good.

So how do we ensure we are acting like an owner?

As a product manager, you are likely already making tradeoffs all the time on behalf of the company. A good exercise is envisioning the company as your own, and the budget / burn is on you, being able to keep the lights on is on you, and make decisions from there.

Your roadmap should be a reflection of your annual product pillars, which themselves should be a reflection of company mission and priorities. To ensure your entire organization is aligned, being inclusive and collaborative during the planning phases of your roadmap is critical for communication. Collect feedback during the research phase, and set your priorities with a matrix like this: