One of Kirill Polevoy’s biggest professional accomplishments in 2023 was the result of what he didn’t do.
Polevoy is the director of product management at Beyond Finance, a fast-growing fintech company that doubled the size of its product management team in 2023. As the new hires arrived, Polevoy found himself unable to be as hands-on as he had been with team members previously.
The solution was to take a half step back and delegate managerial duties to veteran team members while remaining involved in planning the ramp-up of each new hire. And it worked.
“As a result, new team members thrived within their first 90 days and have since become valuable contributors to our team’s success,” said Polevoy.
Polevoy has worked in product management for the past eight years, the last four of which as Beyond Finance’s director of product management. Polevoy credited the company’s culture, which he said retained its risk-tolerant nature even as it scaled, with enabling him to grow as a PM.
“Every person here is consistently challenged, particularly those with a growth mindset, a willingness to embrace risks and comfort with occasional failure,” said Polevoy.
Built In spoke with Polevoy to learn more about learning the art of delegation, his growth as a product manager at Beyond Finance and his advice for PMs looking to level up their careers.
Beyond Finance is a fintech company that helps individuals and families struggling with debt find a pathway to financial freedom.
Reflecting on 2023, what was the most important professional experience you had?
Something big happened for me professionally in 2023. My team doubled in size, with half of the new members new to product management. This brought about a new challenge: How do I guide these new folks to ensure their success while hitting all of our performance targets?
I found myself stretched thin in terms of time and mental bandwidth. I couldn’t provide the same level of coaching as I used to with a smaller team. The solution was delegation.
I paired each new product manager with experienced team veterans and set up a 30-60-90-day plan outside of our regular tactical meetings to ensure they received the necessary support to ramp up. Learning to delegate some of the managerial aspects of my role has been an instrumental part of my growth as a leader and contributor.
Learning to delegate some of the managerial aspects of my role has been an instrumental part of my growth as a leader and contributor.”
How has Beyond Finance helped you advance your career, and what role has your manager played in supporting your career growth?
Many companies at scale are risk-averse, which results in growth stagnation. Employees are not incentivized to think outside the box. Our company is built differently.
I was already managing the servicing product vertical on a critical path to success, with retention being the key lever. As our portfolio grew, retention became increasingly more crucial. The primary focus of our servicing vertical has been the standardization of operational processes, improving agent UX and the automation of manual steps. This significantly improved our bottom line, and because of this, I was given the opportunity to lead our consumer-facing products.
I looked for ways to engage clients in behaviors that kept them on track: making our mobile app more useful, providing self-service features, adding elements that could educate them — anything that helps retain clients. My manager helped me ramp up this vertical gradually so we could pivot if need be and kept in contact to ensure I was successful.
What’s one piece of advice you would offer to a product manager who is looking to take the next step in their career in 2024?
Start by understanding your strengths. Once you’ve identified these strengths, focus on enhancing them. The more you leverage your superpowers, the quicker others will notice your exceptional abilities and promote your career growth.
I’d also caution PMs to not spend too much time balancing out their weaknesses and strengths. Rather than allocating disproportionate efforts to areas of lesser proficiency, substantial gains can be realized by refining existing strengths. When someone excels in a specific skill — let’s say they’re an eight out of 10 — the emphasis should be on advancing them to a nine. Furthermore, actively seeking individuals who are better than you at what you’re good at can foster substantial growth, generating a noteworthy multiplier effect.
Moreover, be proactive. Keep your eyes open for opportunities by volunteering for extra projects and taking on additional responsibilities. In essence, don’t just wait for things to happen. Take the initiative and make them happen.
