A product manager’s job is to make sure a product works for the user and for the business. That means balancing what people need with what the company can deliver. A big part of the role is defining a clear vision and making sure the team understands it.
The job is not about telling people what to do. It is about creating the conditions for good work. Engineers, designers, and business partners often have different goals. The product manager helps bring those goals together. Sometimes this means supporting people outside of your direct team, who may not have any clear reason to help. Other times it means working through problems that are not clear, where no one knows the right answer yet.
I see the job as doing whatever is needed. If the team is stuck, you help unblock them. If a decision is unclear, you make it simple. If there is misalignment, you bring people back to the same page. A product manager spends much of their time communicating, clarifying, and organizing. These tasks are not glamorous, but they are what keep a team moving.
The work also involves asking hard questions. What problem are we solving? Is this the best way to solve it? How will we know if it worked? The answers to these questions guide not just the product but also the process of building it.
My questions for the author are how do you know when to stop exploring options and commit to one path? And what do you do when engineers, designers, and business leaders all want different things?
