I see the product manager’s role as a unique balancing act between influence and facilitation. As LeMay points out, product managers face the challenging dynamic of having “lots of responsibility but little authority,” which means that success depends not on giving orders but rather, on building trust and alignment across different teams and stakeholders.
A product manager serves as a bridge between the engineering, design, and business teams – but what makes this role particularly interesting is how this bridging happens. It’s not about being the loudest voice in the room or having all the answers. Instead, it’s about creating an environment where good decisions can emerge through collaboration and shared understanding. I find it telling that in the reading, LeMay describes his early realization that despite all his preparation and reading, the real-world practice of product management was vastly different from the theory – it required navigating ambiguity and building relationships rather than just applying frameworks.
What fascinates me most about the role is its inherent adaptability requirement. Each day might bring entirely different challenges – from resolving technical debates to managing stakeholder expectations to addressing team dynamics. A successful product manager needs to be prepared and comfortable to switch contexts while maintaining a clear vision of what success looks like for both the team and the product. What’s particularly crucial in this adaptability is the PM’s responsibility to keep the team focused on key objectives, especially when day-to-day challenges threaten to pull focus from the bigger picture. As LeMay points out through his discussion of the “Hero Product Manager” and “Overachiever” archetypes, it’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of shipping features or solving immediate problems while losing sight of actual business and user outcomes. The product manager must serve as the team’s compass, consistently bringing conversations and decisions back to core organizational goals and user needs.
This alignment role becomes especially important when teams face the natural tendency to dive deep into technical solutions or design perfection without considering whether these efforts truly serve the organization’s broader objectives. A skilled product manager needs to master what LeMay describes as “clarity over comfort” – having those sometimes uncomfortable conversations that redirect energy toward what matters most. It is not about shutting down creativity or technical excellence, but rather about ensuring these elements are channeled toward meaningful outcomes that align with organizational goals.
For instance, when a team gets excited about implementing a cutting-edge technical solution, the product manager must be able to guide the conversation back to how this solution serves user needs and business objectives, all while maintaining team motivation and enthusiasm. Too much pressure can damage the team’s chemistry while too little direction can lead to missed objectives. Finding this balance, while dealing with the day-to-day uncertainties of product development, is what makes the role both challenging and rewarding.
A question I would ask the author: How do you recommend product managers develop the emotional resilience needed to consistently have difficult conversations while maintaining team trust?
