9. Office Hours

Context

Most product leaders have packed calendars, and this can mean it's hard to find time for quick, spontaneous conversations - especially with other product people who are equally busy. And as organizations scale, it's harder to rely on scheduled checkins to connect with all of the people you might need to work with.

In my role at the moment I have 15 direct reports. Weekly 1:1s are not going to happen; in the best case I get a biweekly touchpoint. And if we miss a scheduled 1:1 due to a meeting conflict, vacation day, or another event, a month or more can easily go by without a 1:1. But often someone needs more help than an asynchronous Slack chat, or I need to get some feedback to them.

Play

Book office hours on a regular basis - at least several times a week. Hold these at the same time, and make your availability visible so people can see things happening.