Here is the framework I use to assess the performance of a PM in my team

  • Are they in line with the expectations of their level? (Next Level if they want to get promoted)
  • Do they own KRs (at company level or at their product group level)?
  • What has been their contribution to the achievement of these KPIs + other Must Deliver Initiatives (MDIs)? How did they deliver their projects? What are their peers saying? Check 360* reviews for this.

But what I noticed is that all of these are things that you would use to measure someone so that they can reach the local maxima (be it in their org or their company).

Local maxima = the maximum amount of growth in your org or company Growth can be defined however one wants.

But there are a lot of factors at play in a company: Your growth or lack of it can be due to leadership changes, random reorgs, local politics, optics and and the like.

So I started thinking about global maxima too instead of just local. I want my PMs to not just optimise for their next role in my company, but also benchmark themselves globally.

A question I ask often: Where do my PMs stand when benchmarked against the best PMs in their peer group?

If a PM in my team leaves my team and to join another company, would she get hired at the same level or would she get a bump in terms of both role and salary? The last PM in my team who joined Gojek as a first time PM, and had worked with me for 2 years, joined as a GPM at another Indian unicorn. I want exponential growth for all my PMs.

This local vs global maxima exercise has helped my create career development plans for my PMs and push them beyond the comfort of competing for the local maxima.