Self-management.īeing a PM can be incredibly stressful. This lack of self-awareness could derail more-important priorities or damage the PM’s relationship with engineers, who may lose confidence in their PM when the feature isn’t readily adopted by users. If not self-aware, a PM may push to prioritize a feature they conceived even when all the customer interviews and evidence are stacked against it. If a PM is in love with a feature because it addresses their own pain points - PMs are often super-users of the products for which they are responsible - they may cause a user to say they love it too, just to please the PM (“false-positive feature validation”). PMs must be self-aware so as to remain objective and avoid projecting their own preferences onto users of their products. Six Myths of Product Development Self-awareness. These relationship skills can also be what makes the difference between having irate customers because of a bug introduced into the product and those who say, “No worries, we know you’ll fix this!” Read more about Outside an organization, these skills could encourage existing customers to beta test a new feature for early feedback or to convince a target customer to try the MVP of a product still in stealth mode. Authentic and trusting relationships within an organization can lead to more support when additional funding is needed for a product or when an engineer must be swayed to include a quick bug fix in the next sprint. Relationship management is also vital in successful negotiation, resolving conflicts, and working with others toward a shared goal, which is especially challenging when a PM is tasked with balancing the needs of customers, resource-constrained engineering teams, and the company’s revenue goals.
GROWTH PRODUCT MANAGER FULL
By forming authentic and trustworthy connections with both internal and external stakeholders, the best PMs inspire people and help them reach their full potential. Probably one of the most important characteristics of a great PM is their relationship management skills. Here’s a deeper look at how the four key traits of EQ, as defined by Daniel Goleman, relate to the PM role: Relationship management.
GROWTH PRODUCT MANAGER HOW TO
A PM with a high EQ has strong relationships within their organization and a keen sense of how to navigate both internal and external hurdles to ship a great product. Emotional IntelligenceĪ good PM may know the dos and don’ts of a customer interview, but the best PMs have the ability to empathize with customers in that interview, are tuned in to their body language and emotions, and can astutely suss out the pain points that the product or feature will address. These PMs excel at reflecting on where each of these competencies have contributed to the success or failure of their products and continuously adjusting their approach based on customer feedback. These core competencies are the baseline for any PM, and the best PMs hone these skills over years of defining, shipping, and iterating on products. translating business-to-technical requirements, and vice versa.the art of resource allocation (it is not a science!).feature prioritization and road map planning.conducting customer interviews and user testing.Some examples of these competencies include: There are core competencies that every PM must have - many of which can start in the classroom - but most are developed with experience, good role models, and mentoring. Beyond shipping new features on a regular cadence and keeping the peace between engineering and the design team, the best PMs create products with strong user adoption that have exponential revenue growth and perhaps even disrupt an industry. The best PMs I have worked with have mastered the core competencies, have a high EQ, and work for the right company for them. So, what should you consider if you’re thinking of pursuing a PM role?Īspiring PMs should consider three primary factors when evaluating a role: core competencies, emotional intelligence (EQ), and company fit. Because I teach a course on product management at Harvard Business School, I am routinely asked, “What is the role of a product manager?” The role of product manager (PM) is often referred to as the “CEO of the product.” I disagree because, as Martin Eriksson points out, “Product managers simply don’t have any direct authority over most of the things needed to make their products successful - from user and data research through design and development to marketing, sales, and support.” PMs are not the CEO of product, and their roles vary widely depending on a number of factors.
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