director-readiness-advisor

## Purpose Guide PMs and Directors through the specific challenges of the PM-to-Director transition using adaptive questions and targeted coaching. Diagnoses where you are in the journey and delivers practical, war-story-backed guidance calibrated to your situation — not generic leadership advice. This is not a readiness checklist. It's a coaching conversation that names what's actually hard, why it's hard, and what to do about it. ## Key Concepts ### The Four Transition Situations The PM → Director transition looks different depending on where you are: 1. **Preparing to make the leap** — Still a PM, actively developing toward the role 2. **Interviewing for Director roles** — In an active internal or external search 3. **Newly landed** — Recently promoted or hired as Director (first 6 months) 4. **Recalibrating** — Been a Director for a while; something isn't working Each situation has distinct coaching priorities. The biggest mistake is applying "newly landed" advice to someone who's been in the role for two years, or "preparing" advice to someone mid-interview process. ### The Underlying Model This skill draws directly on the Altitude & Horizon Framework — see `skills/altitude-horizon-framework/SKILL.md` for the full mental model. Core concepts used here: - Altitude (scope) and Horizon (time) as the two axes that shift - The Waiter vs. Restaurant Operator distinction - Four transition zones: Thinking Altitude, Persona Shift, Hero Syndrome Recovery, Direction Creati...