PodcastInsight

Julie Zhuo on accelerating your career, impostor syndrome, writing, building product sense, using intuition vs. data, hiring designers, and moving into management

with Julie Zhuo · Jun 2022

Develop your eye separately from your hand

As a manager, Julie developed her ability to critique design but stopped practicing design herself, so her ability to actually make things atrophied. Leadership and IC skills require different practice; you can't assume one sustains the other. Returning to hands-on work revealed gaps she didn't know she had.
Share on X

Related

Connected ideas

Ideas from across Lenny's archive that connect to this one

Julie Zhuo on accelerating your career, impostor syndrome, writing, building product sense, using intuition vs. data, hiring designers, and moving into management

Jun 2022

Theory and practice are different muscles

You can know the theory of good management and still struggle to apply it consistently because it's counterintuitive and context-dependent. Being an expert means knowing the theory but also being honest about how hard it is to execute, and continuing to learn how to tailor it to each unique person or situation.

Insightpodcast
67%

This Week #1: Must reads on growth, what PMs should focus on when joining a new team, and the value of an MBA

Sep 2019

Learning happens through doing, not reading

Don't let yourself get overwhelmed by frameworks and best practices. The folks you're reading have learned a few things by going through the same process you're about to go through. You'll learn most by doing—take a few ideas at a time, discuss them with your team, and try them out in the real world.

Insightnewsletter
66%

Julie Zhuo on accelerating your career, impostor syndrome, writing, building product sense, using intuition vs. data, hiring designers, and moving into management

Jun 2022

Ask for help as a leadership skill

Early in her career, Julie tried to 'fake it until she made it,' but realized she was preventing herself from getting support, empathy, and advice that would have helped her grow faster. Asking for help—from peers, mentors, or people ahead of you—is not a weakness but a tool that accelerates learning and deepens connections.

Insightpodcast
64%

How to get into product management

Jun 2019

Product intuition is trained observation plus data

Product intuition is not innate taste—it's the observation of human behavior, trained by data, and applied to software. Like any skill, it develops through deliberate practice and building products yourself.

Quotenewsletter
64%

A Three-Step Framework For Solving Problems 👌

Jun 2019

You can build beautiful products that solve nothing

A polished, well-designed product that doesn't solve the problem you set out to solve is a failure, regardless of its aesthetic or technical merit. The work of staying true to the problem is harder than the work of building the solution.

Insightnewsletter
62%

Avid does this with your books

Import your highlights, and we'll find the connections you've been missing.