021: How Product Leaders Build Trust and Gain Influence

Enterprise Product Leadership

Welcome to episode #21 of IoT Product Leadership, a podcast featuring in-depth conversations with product leaders on what it takes to build great IoT products. I’m your host, Daniel Elizalde.

I have a very important episode for you today. My guest is Bryan Kelly. Bryan is a seasoned Product Executive and founder of Soft Works Practice, where he helps Product Managers improve their communication and collaboration skills.

A few weeks back, in episode 19, I talked with Keith Strier, head of artificial intelligence at EY about the impact Artificial Intelligence has on the Internet of Things.

And, in this episode, Bryan and I focus on soft skills, which is the “human intelligence” necessary to get our job done and bring successful products to market.

As Product Leaders, we often focus on the Technology or Business part of our roles, and we often forget that Product Management is a people-job. And therefore, soft skills are THE most important skills we need to cultivate.

This is an episode that no IoT Product Leader should miss.

About Bryan Kelly:

As an executive responsible for product team performance—Bryan Kelly found no shortage of information about the "soft skills" that enable teams to effectively interact with each other. But information wasn't the problem. Putting those skills into practice was the real challenge. So he developed simple tools that blend neuroscientific research, psychology, and practical know-how to help product teams regularly practice these skills. Learn more at SoftWorksPractice.com.

Topics we discuss in this episode:

• Bryan shares his background and about Soft Works Practice.
• How Bryan works with Product people.
• The definition of soft skills.
• How Product Managers can best practice soft skills.
• Bryan’s model on how to navigate soft skills.
• Hot buttons and how to practice soft skills within your environment.
• Advice for Product Leaders who are new at developing IoT solutions.

To learn more about Bryan and Soft Works Practice:

• Soft Works Practice
• On Twitter @bryanpaulkelly
• Bryan on LinkedIn