How do you land the CPO role of your dreams?

Learn pathways up the ladder and strategies to move faster.

“What am I doing wrong, and what do I have to do to get to the next level?” is a common question asked by senior product managers and early-stage leaders such as the group product manager or product director. The people who ask me this question are hard-working, passionate about product, and ambitious. But for one reason or another, they feel they have hit a career ceiling.

It can be so frustrating for individuals trying their best. I hear people who are highly capable and have loads of potential question if product management is the right career for them. This is not because they don’t enjoy it, but because they can’t break into the leadership level they desire.

Many product professionals aspire to become VPS or CPOS, but the path is rarely straightforward. Unlike fields with clear hierarchies or legally required certifications, product management leadership emerges from a mix of skills, experiences, and, often, unexpected opportunities.

Through research, firsthand insights from experienced leaders, and my own experience coaching or training hundreds of product leaders, this article outlines advice to help you journey from individual contributor to product executive.

So, How Long Does It Take to Become a Product Leader?

The journey to product leadership varies widely, as do the role sizes, even with the same job title. A CPO might have fewer staff or budget control in an early-stage company than a group product manager in a larger firm. The accountability and risk impact is typically far more significant with the CPO, where getting it wrong could mean the end of the business.

Researching LinkedIn profiles and job adverts shows that most product managers take 10 years or more to reach senior leadership roles, but there is quite a variance, with some making it to the top in just 5 years. Factors influencing this timeline include company size, industry, access to mentorship, and the ability to build strategic influence.

The following shows a typical career progression, although the number of years is far less important than what you are actually doing in that time:

• 0-3 years: Associate or Junior Product Manager

• 3-5 years: Product Manager

• 5-8 years: Senior Product Manager

• 8-12 years: Director of Product (often requiring 8-12 years of experience)

• 12+ years: VP of Product or Chief Product Officer (typically requiring 12+ years of experience)

Some leaders accelerate this timeline through entrepreneurial ventures, working in high-growth environments, or stepping into leadership roles earlier in startups. Research from LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and product management career reports supports these timeframes as industry norms.

Common Paths to Product Leadership

Based on interviews with product leaders and experts, several themes emerged about how they reached leadership roles. Here are some of the most common trajectories:

1. Learning from example

Chris Jones (SVPG) described his journey into product as "really accidental." He started in software development but soon realised he wasn’t suited for it. After running his own consultancy, he was hired into his first product management role at a startup. "That was when the switch really turned on for me," he said. He credits great mentors with reshaping his understanding of leadership: "Until you're actually shown by somebody what it looks like in action...you only think you're leading.”

2. Caring enough to take the lead

In multiple conversations with seasoned VP Product and CPOs, they have shared that their career boost was down to caring enough to do something about a problem. In a few cases, as senior product managers, they allowed their passion to overtake any doubt they had in self-confidence (and all of them had this doubt), resulting in proactively leading initiatives to drive an impact. They were not appointed, nor did they ask permission.

3. Strategic initiative experience

Berit Hoffmann started in enterprise technology and worked across startups and large corporations, gradually taking on leadership roles in increasingly strategic projects. She explains how she learned influence without authority as a product manager, which won her the opportunity to be involved in more strategic initiatives. She highlighted the importance of broadening her influence: “I found myself in more strategic positions over time, which naturally led to leadership.”

4. Entrepreneurship as a Gateway

Jane Austin’s first leadership experience came from necessity: "The company went spectacularly bankrupt... so I phoned clients and said, ‘Do you have anyone looking after your account?’ And they said no. And I said, ‘Well, I’ve got a business.’" While the new venture was eventually acquired, running it early in her career gave her invaluable business acumen to carry into a product leadership role.

5. Moving from a Related Field

Many product leaders didn’t start as product managers. Analysing the career history of CPOs on LinkedIn shows a significant number migrated into product after learning management and early stage leadership in a different field. Other fields were typically customer-focused, including marketing and customer success.

Key Strategies for Moving into Product Leadership

While no two paths are identical, common strategies stand out among product leaders:

1. Mastering Stakeholder Influence

Product leadership isn’t just about making product decisions—it’s about influencing others. Jane Austin emphasised learning to navigate difficult personalities and team dynamics: "I used to really worry about people liking me. And then I had this epiphany: I don’t like them, so why does it matter if they like me? I just need to be respected.”

2. Developing Commercial Acumen

Understanding the financial side of a product is critical. Multiple leaders I interviewed emphasised the importance of basic business understanding. They talked about understanding the business model; some used the business model canvas to summarise it. Across the board, everyone agrees you must understand basic financial concepts; the language of business is finance.

3. Finding a Mentor (or Several)

Many product leaders credit their growth to mentorship. Chris Jones learned leadership by watching his own manager at Vontu: "They not only taught me, but they modeled it... they showed me hiring, developing people—this was not something you do in the cracks. This was the job."

4. Taking Ownership Beyond Job Titles

Elana Jacobs emphasised stepping up before being given an official leadership role: "My leadership journey began early, even when I wasn’t officially managing people." She took responsibility for major projects, which made leadership a natural next step.

5. Balancing Vision with Execution

Auriga Martin, now a fractional CEO, described leadership as bridging big-picture vision with execution: "I love to push teams out of their comfort zone, but I always hire pragmatists to balance me out." She stressed that great leaders must both inspire and enable their teams.

Conclusion: Charting Your Own Course

While product leadership isn’t a one-size-fits-all journey, the common threads are clear: seek out strategic influence, develop business acumen, learn from mentors, and step up before you’re asked. Whether you get there through entrepreneurship, climbing the corporate ladder, or making a lateral move, the key is to continuously and deliberately expand your ability to lead others and drive meaningful outcomes.

For senior product managers or new product leaders looking to advance, the message is simple: Leadership isn’t a promotion—it’s a mindset shift. Start leading where you are, and the role will follow.