I created this career ladder leveling guide for my product management team at Webflow, so that my PMs knew what attributes were required for each level.

It was important to me to create a meaningful IC track in addition to the management path. I’m a believer that you don’t have to manage to have amplified impact, and people managers need to genuinely care about investing in their management skills.

This was used for promotion calibrations and development plans. During promotion calibrations, I asked my managers to grade their reports across the attributes for their existing level. If they were exceeding expectations, I’d ask for the grading at the next level. Those who were consistently exceeding expectations at their current level and starting to demonstrate attributes at the next level were candidates for promotion.

Each company should have a PM career ladder. Familiarize yourself with yours. If your company doesn’t have one, feel free to leverage this artifact.

Jiaona Zhang

As the SVP of Product, I've created numerous career ladders for the different functions in my org. This is the career ladder for the product management function.

PM Career Ladder at Webflow

Career Levels & Attributes

IC Levels

Manager Levels

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