In this episode of Practical Product Management, Leah and Marilyn are joined by Alesha Cronie, a seasoned engineering leader with a talent for bringing cross-functional teams into alignment.

The trio dives into what true collaboration looks like—beyond roles, titles, or processes. They explore how product managers and engineers can build trust, navigate ambiguity, and influence one another without ego. Alesha shares how she works with strong personalities, deals with vague vision statements, and why transparency and storytelling are essential leadership tools.

With laughs, real talk, and some hard-earned lessons, this episode is a must-listen for anyone trying to build better software—and better teams.

Key Takeaways

1. Trust is built through context and transparency. Frame your questions, share your intent, and give people space to bring their expertise to the table.
2. Iteration isn’t just “breaking things into smaller pieces.” It’s about delivering real value sooner—and requires collaboration between product and engineering on how to slice the work.
3. Stay in your lane—but know when to blur the lines. PMs shouldn’t be committing code, and engineers shouldn’t be solving business problems in isolation. Collaboration thrives when everyone plays their part—while staying connected to the whole.

In this episode of Practical Product Management, Marilyn and Leah talk with Ryan Scott, Head of Product: AI and Innovation at DNA Behavior.

Ryan shares how learning his own behavioral style has shaped the way he leads, communicates, and builds product strategy. They explore how self-knowledge supports better collaboration, why it’s worth investing in shared language across teams, and how great leaders make space for diverse thinking styles.

A thoughtful and practical conversation about the inner work of great product leadership.

3 Key Takeaways

1. Self-Knowledge Is a Leadership Advantage Understanding your own behavioral style—how you communicate, process, and respond—helps you lead with clarity and consistency.
2. Shared Language Builds Stronger Teams Behavioral tools can give product and engineering teams a shared framework for understanding one another and reducing friction.
3. Good Leaders Ask Curious Questions Ryan emphasizes the importance of inquiry over certainty, especially in roles that span strategy, innovation, and cross-functional leadership.

In this special anniversary episode of Practical Product Management, Leah and Marilyn celebrate one year (and 33 episodes!) of no-fluff, real-talk product leadership. They reflect on what it’s taken to stick with the podcast, why they started it in the first place, and what it’s meant to have each other through the ups and downs of careers in tech.

They dive into some of their favorite guests and episodes, what makes a conversation great (and what doesn’t), and share honest thoughts about growth, AI, agency waste, and why roadmaps are mostly fiction. At its core, this episode is about friendship, longevity, and the love of building things that matter—with the people who matter.

Key Takeaways

1. There’s Power in Sticking With It Many women leave tech mid-career—and product leadership can be lonely. This podcast started as a way for two friends to stay connected and talk about real problems. A year later, it’s still about that (and it still matters).
2. Frameworks Don’t Build Products—People Do Marilyn and Leah have worked across industries, teams, and countries—and the lesson is always the same: theory is great, but nothing replaces curiosity, experimentation, and showing up with integrity.
3. Product Work Is Changing—And It Should From the AI hype cycle to shifting DEI conversations to the breakdown of “growth” as a silo, the future of product management demands new thinking. Real innovation will come from those brave enough to question how things have always been done.