• Stef the PM
  • Posts
  • How I Moved from Support to PM (Without Leaving My Company)

How I Moved from Support to PM (Without Leaving My Company)

I was so sick of watching customer problems sit in the backlog of doom. Here’s how I changed that.

Author

Stefanie Brown
October 17, 2025

In partnership with

👋 Hey friend,

Three years into my role at a startup, I was exhausted.

Not from the work itself, but from the helplessness of it.

I’d spend hours with frustrated customers, document their pain in excruciating detail, pass it to engineering, and watch those tickets disappear into what we lovingly called “the backlog of doom.”

I knew the problems. I understood the impact. But I had no authority to do anything about it.

That’s when I started thinking: “What if I could be the person who decides what gets built?”

Here’s how I made the leap from customer-facing to Product Manager at the same company, and what I learned along the way.

The Simplest Way to Create and Launch AI Agents and Apps

You know that AI can help you automate your work, but you just don't know how to get started.

With Lindy, you can build AI agents and apps in minutes simply by describing what you want in plain English.

→ "Create a booking platform for my business."
→ "Automate my sales outreach."
→ "Create a weekly summary about each employee's performance and send it as an email."

From inbound lead qualification to AI-powered customer support and full-blown apps, Lindy has hundreds of agents that are ready to work for you 24/7/365.

Stop doing repetitive tasks manually. Let Lindy automate workflows, save time, and grow your business

The Role That Didn’t Exist (Yet)

Let me set the scene: I was the “Get Shit Done” person.

Multi-hat wearing. Wherever departments needed help, support, account management, operations, you name it. If something was broken or someone needed coverage, I was the person they called.

It sounds scrappy and exciting (and it was), but here’s the truth: GSD isn’t a real title or role.

It meant I had no clear scope, no defined path forward, and no real leverage when it came time to advocate for customers or push back on distracting work.

I needed something more. The business needed something more.

And thankfully, I had great managers who saw it too.

The Work I Started Doing Before Anyone Asked

I didn’t wake up one day and announce, “I want to be a PM.” I started acting like one first.

Here’s what that looked like:

1. I made customer feedback strategic, not anecdotal

Instead of just logging bugs, I started building systems to track and report on customer feedback. I could walk into a meeting and say: “This isn’t just a bug. It’s impacting X accounts, Y revenue, and Z customer satisfaction scores. It’s causing churn.”

Suddenly, tickets weren’t just sitting in the backlog. They were getting prioritized.

2. I built dashboards that measured what mattered

Leadership needed visibility into product activity. I built dashboards that showed them what was happening, not just what we hoped was happening.

This did two things: it gave me credibility, and it gave me a seat at the table.

3. I integrated into the CTO’s team

The CTO became my champion. We started having brainstorm sessions to align work with strategy. I wasn’t just reporting problems anymore, I was helping solve them.

Eventually, I was helping build sprints and run scrum ceremonies. I was doing PM work without the title.

💡 Quick Tip: If you want to transition internally, start doing the work before you have the title. Don’t wait for permission. Show them what you’re capable of, then ask for the role.

The Conversation That Changed Everything

The official ask didn’t happen in a dramatic moment. It happened in a 360 feedback session during annual reviews.

We’d already been talking about it in 1:1s. My manager (who was also the CTO at our small company, effectively playing the role of engineering manager too) knew I wanted a role that gave me more authority over the ideas and suggestions I was making.

He’d been my champion through the whole process. We’d been having brainstorm sessions to align work with strategy. He saw what I was capable of.

Here’s the thing: there were no surprises in that review. And that’s exactly how it should be.

If you’re having effective 1:1s, your annual review should just be a formalization of conversations you’ve already been having. Plant the seeds early. Talk about where you want to go, not just what you’re doing right now.

But here’s what almost derailed it: company structure and self-doubt.

Who was going to take on my clients? What about the export files I ran for ops? The workflows I built for other teams?

There was this fear that if I moved into PM, everything I was holding together would fall apart.

And I worried about that too.

But he pushed back. He said: “We’ll figure it out. You’re doing PM work already. Let’s make it official.”

📌 Try this: If you’re in a similar spot, use your 1:1s to plant seeds early. Talk about what you want, not just what you’re doing. Give your manager time to see the path forward with you. By the time your annual review comes around, the conversation should be about “when” not “if.”

What Surprised Me Most

When I finally stepped into the PM role, I expected certain things to be hard.

I thought I’d struggle with roadmapping or sprint planning or stakeholder management.

But, The hardest part was the lack of alignment, even at a small company.

I knew things were messy. But being in the room with decision-makers, seeing how everyone had a different version of what success looked like, that was eye-opening.

It wasn’t that people were bad at their jobs. It’s that no one had taken the time to align on what we were actually building toward.

That taught me one of the most important lessons of my PM career: Alignment isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s the foundation.

The Other Surprise (A Good One)

Even after I became a PM, I was still doing some advocacy work for other teams.

But here’s what changed: I finally had standing ground to say no.

When distracting work would pull me away from more important tasks, I could push back. Not because I was being difficult, but because I had clarity on what my role was and what it wasn’t.

That clarity was everything.

💡 Pro Move: When you transition, protect your new role boundaries early. Saying yes to everything that got you here will prevent you from succeeding in what’s next.

What I’d Do Differently

Looking back, I wouldn’t change much.

But if I could go back? I’d be more vocal earlier about getting distracting work off my plate.

I spent too much time trying to prove I could do everything. What I should have been proving is that I could prioritize the right things and let go of the rest.

Your Internal Transfer Playbook

If you’re thinking about moving from a customer-facing role to PM at your current company, here’s what actually works:

Before the ask:

  • Start doing PM-adjacent work (tracking feedback strategically, building dashboards, joining product conversations)

  • Find a champion (a manager, a PM, someone in leadership who believes in you)

  • Build credibility by showing impact, not just effort

  • Use your 1:1s to talk about where you want to go, not just where you are

During the transition:

  • Position it as valuable for the business, not just for you (“Here’s how this role benefits the team”)

  • Address the “who will do your current work?” question head-on (have a transition plan ready)

  • Don’t wait for the perfect moment. There won’t be one.

After you land it:

  • Protect your boundaries. You can’t do your old job and your new job at the same time.

  • Expect misalignment. Your job is to create clarity where there isn’t any.

  • Stay close to customers. That’s your superpower.

Quick Reads for Internal Transitions

Challenge: Start Acting Like a PM This Week

Pick one thing from this list and try it this week:

  1. Reframe a customer problem strategically. Don’t just report the bug. Connect it to a metric (churn, revenue, satisfaction, support load).

  2. Build something leadership needs. A dashboard, a report, a synthesis doc. Make their job easier.

  3. Have the conversation. Tell your manager: “I’m interested in moving toward product. What would it take to get there?”

You don’t need permission to start. You just need to start.

5 years ago, I was drowning in other people’s priorities, watching problems disappear into the backlog.

Today, I’m the one deciding what gets built.

If you’re in a customer-facing role right now, feeling like you could do more if someone just gave you the authority, this is your sign.

Start doing the work. The title will follow.

See you next Friday,

– Stef

💬 I’m mentoring on ADPList! If you’re thinking about an internal transition or just need help figuring out your next move, you can book a free session with me right here.

Experience Cognitive Amplification

Join Pressmaster.ai on October 15 for The Worlds First AI Built for Cognitive Amplification.

See how your ideas can turn into influence through authentic communication powered by your own thinking patterns.

Reserve your free spot today and experience what amplified intelligence feels like.

Go from AI overwhelmed to AI savvy professional

AI will eliminate 300 million jobs in the next 5 years.

Yours doesn't have to be one of them.

Here's how to future-proof your career:

  • Join the Superhuman AI newsletter - read by 1M+ professionals

  • Learn AI skills in 3 mins a day

  • Become the AI expert on your team