There is no single answer to what a product manager does. Perhaps this is because of the uncertain nature of the job. As stated by the VP of product at Sinch, “The skill of actually figuring out what you need is probably as important as what you do after you figure it out.” Product managers must work through ambiguity to bring out the best in their team. They must also do this without direct authority, and often must interact with different types of people outside of the team.
Product management in practice is often much messier than product management in practice. There are often no clear product roadmaps, quarterly goals, and KPIs when you start a project, and product managers work with this uncertainty. Product managers often don’t have clear deliverables, but they have a lot of responsibility. If there is something that the team needs to be done, often product managers are responsible for picking up the task even if it is “not a part of their job”.
Furthermore, product managers are in the middle of many business functions. Essentially, they are the “glue” that holds together the team. They connect engineers, designers, and businesspeople, and they must mediate conflicts and have a clear vision of goals and strategy.
To be a good product manager, one must not fall into habits of insecurity such as using unnecessary jargon, overworking a team to deliver tasks that may not be needed for the final product, or putting in time just to seem busy.
Overall, the job of a product manager is to hold together a team as it works towards the goal of delivering a product. This involves great amounts of communication, mediation, and alignment on goals in order to be successful.
Question for the author: What are some strategies to ground yourself and get a better sense of how to be the best use for your team as a product manager when it is unclear what direction to head in?
