After reading the chapter I think the main way I view a product manager’s job is to identify gaps and filling them, and to act as a communication hub. Especially reading how much the role can change from company to company, it seems like those were the underlying themes since there often is not a clear set of tasks laid out for you.
My takeaway was really reflected in how LeMay described figuring out where your role fits in with other ADPRs, in that you are asking questions to figure out how you should overlap with each role. It kind of seemed to me that this is a reflection of how a product manager figures out their role at a new company, just in a more formal way. It’s a lot of asking questions and taking a genuine interest to figure out how things are working currently, and figuring out what is missing and where you can bridge a gap.
I’m wondering more about how the product manager sets the tone for a team. Since it doesn’t seem like a product manager has a specific “team” since they don’t have authority, I am wondering how this is defined. LeMay specifically mentions that if a product manager is working late hours and pushing too hard that their team will also likely feel this way. I’m wondering how that relationship works and if there are other things to be aware of when focusing on your own workflow.
My main question from the reading is: How do you simultaneously set boundaries while taking on every task that is not someone else’s job? The reading stresses that if something is not getting done, it is your responsibility to get it done. At the same time (although the profile is more about the indication and complaining of a product manager in this sense), LeMay mentions the product martyr being frustrated for having to take on everything. Where can product managers draw boundaries to know when to stop even if not everything is getting done?
