Spotify: Their model has small squads grouped into tribes, with a product manager acting as a mini CEO for a feature area. PMs report to the product director of their department, called the tribe lead. (However, a former Spotify PM wrote that this squad model was only ever aspirational and never fully implemented.)
Airbnb: Since the pandemic, most product work now ships twice a year during big releases. Their model merges the product management and product marketing teams into a single, more senior unit that is separate but equal to the design team.
Zappos: Each role belongs to a circle rather than a department, and circles are guided by “lead links” rather than managers. A PM is one role among several, and the authority is limited to that role’s domain. More recently, managers have been brought back.
I’d want to work at Spotify because I’d want full ownership of the feature I’d be developing. This model definitely leans towards more ambiguous authority, but I think that can be navigated through having clear communication and building trusting relationships.
