One of the things that I resonate with in the reading is to let go of the mindset of “Never mind, I will just do it myself.”
When I was managing a team of full-time and part-time researchers and content creators as the COO for a philanthropy startup, it was hard to keep everyone accountable for a pre-negotiated schedule of publishing, considering varying levels of commitment. The first natural response that I had to that situation is “if I can just copy and paste myself 10 times, everything run smoothly and seamlessly.” But I have come to realize this is far from ideal. Not only would 10 Sabina(s) fail to deliver the diverse range of content needed to effectively advocate for our philanthropic mission, but the team would also suffer from a lack of complementary skill sets. True productivity and innovation come from the foundation of diverse perspectives and spread out advantages, not from trying to replicate one person across the board.
Moreover, I believe that striking the balance between driving the product innovation that you see as fit and understanding the demand and the capabilities of the collaborating teams (engineering, policy and legal compliance, design, marketing) is another fascinating aspect of the product manager’s work. While it is critical to focus on the big picture of where to lead and execute the change, to zoom in on the details and navigate through the ambiguity is equally important, if not more.
