What does it mean to find out what your team is actually good at—and how do you use that insight to grow, scale, and lead effectively?

In this episode, Amir sits down with Pallavi Pal, Head of Product at Grata, to unpack the nuanced art of identifying strengths within product teams. From hiring with purpose to fostering technical and soft skills, Pallavi shares how she built her team from the ground up and established a culture of collaboration and excellence. Whether you’re a product leader, aspiring manager, or simply navigating your growth path in tech, this conversation is packed with frameworks and hard-earned lessons.

✨ Key Takeaways

“Good” is personal and team-specific – Recognize where individual team members naturally lean in and where they need support.

Hiring with intention matters – Building a team from scratch allows leaders to define what “good” looks like for each role early on.

Balancing technical and soft skills is crucial – Successful PMs don’t just understand the product—they empathize with users and collaborate effectively.

Path to people management starts with mentorship – Use mentorship as a low-risk way to identify potential managers.

Culture isn’t just top-down – Product teams should reflect company values while fostering technical curiosity and peer collaboration.

Metrics can’t be mandated – Teams need to co-create their North Star metrics and OKRs to stay engaged and aligned.

⏱️ Timestamped Highlights

[00:20] – Introducing Pallavi and the focus on identifying what your team is great at

[02:05] – Observing behaviors to identify strengths and hesitations

[05:22] – Hiring to match specific skill sets across different product functions

[08:20] – The balance between domain knowledge, technical skills, and soft skills

[12:03] – Identifying future people managers within your team

[16:21] – Building a product culture that aligns with company values but has its own identity

[21:06] – How to define and align around standards and metrics in product

[24:21] – How to connect with Pallavi for follow-up questions

💬 Quote of the Episode

“It’s a lot more art than science. Good is seeing where people lean in—what excites them—and building the team to amplify that.”

– Pallavi Pal