How do you see a product manager’s job?
I believe product managers have two core responsibilities: (1) knowing how to work with anyone and (2) ensuring people are excited to work on the product. The first is immediately addressed by Matt Lemay in Product Management in Practice as he starts with Pradeep GanapathyRaj’s answer that product managers “bring out the best in the people on [their] team” and “work with people outside of [their] immediate team, who are not directly incentivized to work with [them].” The second is less emphasized but equally important.
Knowing how to work with anyone
If a product manager is responsible for owning the outcomes of a product as Lemay puts it, then it’s crucial they have the support and expertise of everyone at their disposal. Product managers must first build rapport and trust between themselves and the engineers, designers, analysts, leadership, and every other business function they touch. They should know how much time to give Jina to develop a feature. They should know the level of detail Terry needs to design a prototype. They should know how Nathan prefers to receive feedback. Product managers can work well with everyone and ensure the right people are in the right place before they even know it. By earning others’ respect, PMs can take on the responsibility without fearing the lack of formal authority.
Ensuring people are excited to work on the product
Highlighting the purpose of a product and creating a narrative around that product is another crucial PM responsibility. When a PM’s entire team understands the magnitude of impact their work will have and how it ties back to the mission of the organization, they will be better motivated to work towards a common goal and try achieving what the roadmaps, KPIs, etc. are trying to achieve. Moreover, I believe a PM who is also a great storyteller can ensure the projects being worked on strike a sense of joy or meaning for each team member. By being both a facilitator and a motivator at the intersection of multiple teams, a PM can succeed (or learn from failure).
Question
What are some strategies to recognize when you’re falling into one of the “bad PM profiles” and address those mistakes?
