When Matthew Farrugia was first approached by Lidion Bank to take up the role of Head of Product, he was somewhat wary.

The shift in approach from a highly agile fintech startup to a bank would be drastic, he believed. Since then, he has corrected what he describes as one of the “biggest misconceptions” people have about what product management means inside a bank.

“The role of product manager is more traditionally tied to the tech and gaming industries, perhaps. But Lidion Bank does things differently. I’m the first one to state that what we do here is not usual,” Mr Farrugia starts off with a smile.

He acknowledges that, within the daily environment of a bank, there are a million elements all pulling in different directions: regulations, the ambitions of the bank itself, client requests. The challenge, for him, lies in taking what he refers to as the ambition of the bank and “transforming this vague, complex requirement into something delightful for the user”.

Lidion Bank’s size, he believes, is an advantage in this strategy, allowing it to take a different approach while remaining nimble and agile in the true sense.

But how does the speed that’s valued in Fintech circles blend with the discipline that’s valued by traditional banking? Mr Farrugia believes it’s all about effective prioritising, and he achieves this by following the 80/20 principle.

“I’m not going to lie, fulfilling the different ‘pulls’ can be a bit like being on a tightrope. There’s a bunch of regulations on one side, products to maintain on the other… it comes at us from all sides. But the 80/20 rule allows me to focus on the inputs that drive disproportionate impact," he says enthusiastically.

In practice, he picks the top three things on his to-do list that will move the needle the most.

"I do this ruthlessly, and tweak priorities daily according to changing needs. This allows me to stay on top of things and deliver results," he elaborates.

This mindset has been instrumental in helping Mr Farrugia accelerate delivery at Lidion Bank. He recalls the baptism of fire he went through immediately upon joining, when the bank was in the process of introducing SEPA Instant Payments.

“The new regulations had just been introduced, and we needed to come up with a solution within a very limited timeframe. We were far from ready and there were only a few weeks remaining. At this point we had two paths available. We could try to create a solution that was perfect in theory but didn’t address the problem in practice. I call this analysis-paralysis. Or we could roll up our sleeves and aim for tangible progress. And that’s exactly what we did. We managed to pull it off in time,” he notes with a touch of justified pride.

The key learnings from the experience, he says, were: crystal clear focus, daily alignment, and the knowledge that progress will always beat perfection.

“Was our solution perfect from the get-go? Of course not. But we delivered value for the client, took feedback, tweaked and refined, and continued progressing.”

Mr Farrugia also ties this to one of the moments that helped shape his approach to leadership, although he also adds that there was no one “eureka” moment.

“Product managers tend to be the linchpin that keeps the wheel turning. It’s the experience that I go through every day that shapes me. Of course, there have been moments where I struggled, but two principles have always stayed with me. Lead by example, and be a human first and a manager second,” he says, adding that there’s nothing quite like parenthood to teach the value of this approach.

“When I tell my children not to do something, they’ll probably ignore me. They tend to do what I do, not as I say. It works in exactly the same way with teams. When I prioritise something by showing up and being fully engaged, the team sees that it matters – that's far more powerful than just telling them it's important.”

Mr Farrugia describes this approach as a long-term investment that continues to bear fruit even in his absence. As for his “human-first” rule, he believes in it implicitly.

“Start the day by asking how someone is and add a thank you. We’re not just team members, we’re there as people, and we each have our own energies, issues and quirks,” he describes. “We always speak about understanding the client, but first we also need to be empathetic with our team. It starts with values.”

What about motivation? The banking industry comes with a notorious slew of constraints, after all. However, as Mr Farrugia points out, nowadays many industries are heavily regulated.

“The reality is that everything is regulated, but I do believe that constraints lead to creativity. Regulations are just one dimension – there's also budget, team size, client expectations, tight timelines.. From all these, I create my artist’s canvas and then I need to be creative within it. I am, however, a big believer in keeping things simple when possible.”

Perhaps a surprising statement coming from someone with a tech background. But Mr Farrugia insists that this isn’t so. In practice, the simpler the solution you deliver to the client, the better.

“The trick is to always keep in mind what the client wants – the solution lies there. If the CFO has a deadline for a report, the last thing they want is a banking solution that offers friction. If you manage to create a solution that requires one less click, one less warning… it helps. In the end it’s all about the client,” he states firmly.

It’s also about making sure that the famed work-life balance is achieved. While acknowledging that most of his unplugging takes place on the weekend – with family and friends, and in nature – he also does not think that we should live for two days and work for five.

“That would be sad. I practice daily gratitude. Whether it’s through my daily ritual of morning tea and biscuits with my children, family dinners, a stop at the gym… I love finding small daily pockets of time that recharge me, both mentally and physically. I find that if you introduce a structure to them, it becomes a lot easier to maintain these small rituals. Head of Product is not my entire identity. It’s one, important piece – but not everything.”

Finally, the topic turns to success. What does this look like, 12 months down the road? Perhaps unsurprisingly, the answer for Mr Farrugia lies with the clients.

“My definition of success is to remain as close as we can to our clients. There's noise, and then there are genuine signals – like direct client feedback that shows they're actively using our products. Lidion Bank is privileged to know many of our clients by name, and this proximity directly shapes our product roadmap. When you maintain that client focus, you hit your targets naturally because you're solving real problems. That's our competitive advantage," he concludes.