In my view, a product manager is a conduit for inter- and intra- communication with internal and external stakeholders, guiding a product or feature in its complex, ambiguity-filled journey from inception to build to launch to cyclical improvement.
Within the organization, the product manager mediates the ideation, work, and feedback from different teams. To ensure the success of product build, they work closely with product design, development, and data teams, for example, and to craft the go-to-market strategy, the product manager also brings in perspectives from business units like marketing and sales. The product manager thus keeps everyone in the loop and aligned on the product vision and goals.
Additionally, the product manager takes an outwards pulse on the competition, market outlook, and customers. Some key questions they will likely consider include (but are not limited to): What are our competitors saying and doing? How do we compare? What are our users/customers saying and doing? What do they value (or not value)? What is a potential user base we might tap into? Have our users churned or switched to other products besides ours, and why?
The specifics of what a product manager does, however, are dependent upon what type of organization they represent, ranging from a small startup to a large enterprise corporation and everything in between. The more established the company, the more formality and structure there is likely to be in delivering on product management responsibilities. Yet despite the variations in the specific day-to-day activities of product managers at different organizations, author Matt LeMay points out a common theme across the board: product managers “have lots of responsibility but little authority” (Product Management in Practice, Chapter 1, 2022). Important traits for successful product managers, therefore, include a willingness to accept responsibility for both the process and the outcome of product development and launch, and a readiness to fill in on any task that needs to be done–even those that are mundane, challenging, or unexpected.
In describing how I see the job of a product manager, I want to acknowledge that in a company or organization, many roles can have product management responsibilities, even if they do not don an official “Product Manager” title. Moreover, theory cannot substitute for the daily realities of the role, as LeMay rightly emphasizes. I am curious, therefore, about LeMay’s thoughts on how relevant the many steps in applying to product manager positions are to the job itself. As a student potentially interested in product management roles, I have seen that the PM application process involves, beyond the resume screening (and sometimes short-essay questions), also potential take-home assignments, as well as myriad rounds of different types interviews including product sense, execution/analytics, behavioral, and more. A question I would pose to LeMay is: to what extent do you think the application process for product management positions is reflective of the role in practice?
