So, what exactly is a product manager? It can consist of someone who has a 60-hour work week to someone who writes PRDs. The role of a product manager and the ambiguity of their role is something that won’t be agreed upon overnight.
In Matt LeMay’s book Product Management in Practice, the skills of a PM are listed as CORE (communication, organization, research, and execution). Essentially, the product manager needs to mediate the conversation between UI/UX designers, developers, and everyone else in between. They also need to have a clear understanding of the market and customer’s wants for the product. There are many soft skills involved and it is clear that the list can be expanded endlessly.
LeMay makes sure to touch upon the hard skills as well. When working on a highly technical project, it is beneficial to have basic knowledge of how systems work and the functions within it. This will allow the conversation between engineers and the product manager to flow more productively as well. However, there is a strong component in prospective managers that fear their lack of “hard skills.” It triggers insecurity and lack of confidence in applicants, but I don’t think this is a determining factor of what makes a good PM. Each company and project will vary, and the PM has potential to learn in context.
Altogether, the notion of “bad product manager archetypes” will inevitably exist within the journey to becoming an expert PM. Mistakes will be made and bad decisions will be chosen. LeMay and other product managers in the space would agree that these archetypes and mistakes are a part of the process of mastering the role.
