Skill #4: Great product managers practice empathyĪ key goal for product teams is to understand customer problems and then offer a solution they’ll love.
Product manager skills how to#
That means understanding what adoption looks like, how to measure success, and how much revenue that would represent to the company. What’s more, they need to be able to define outcomes in clear business terms. In a typical day, product managers may find themselves in a long-term product strategy planning session with leadership one moment, then a meeting about a granular technical issue with an engineer the next.
For example, in a typical day, they may find themselves in a long-term product strategy planning session with leadership one moment, then a meeting about a granular technical issue with an engineer the next. Great product managers are able to both zoom out and see the bigger picture and zoom in to tackle smaller, day-to-day issues. They understand not only the challenges that designers and engineers face, but also those of the sales and support teams. In a sense, they have to be a jack-of-all-trades. Product managers oversee the entire product process, engaging cross-functional teams in order to achieve the best results. Skill #3: Great product managers see both the big picture and granular, day-to-day details Stepping outside of your own culture forces you to think differently and opens your mind to new ideas and approaches. It doesn’t matter if the startup was a success or a failure, what matters is that you exposed yourself to an environment that stretched you.Īnother example is international experience. These are all excellent ways for a product manager to learn and grow. Being part of a startup forces you to think on your feet, manage shifting priorities with grace, and focus more acutely on business strategy, objectives, and the overall vision of the product. One example is working in a startup – not just because productboard is a startup, but because of the challenges that come with operating in a rapidly changing environment. Having experience outside of your comfort zone indicates a better ability to do this. Why is this important? Because product managers have to manage risk and uncertainty. What I’m really looking for are people who have experienced a range of challenges that forced them to think differently. Nor is it an easy thing to measure, quantify, or demonstrate – we all have different comfort zones, after all. Stepping outside one’s comfort zone isn’t exactly a skill. Skill #2: Great product managers step outside their comfort zone It’s critical to understand their different needs before we start thinking about specific solutions.Īnd as many product managers are required to switch between domains, they constantly need to challenge their existing beliefs and expand their knowledge. We speak to product managers who work in healthcare, learning management, real estate, and many more. Īt productboard, we’re building a product management system that can be used across many industries.
This is how we better understand what our customers need right now. To keep up with this shifting environment, we need to be inquisitive and ask the right questions.
The market is constantly changing, and so are our customers’ needs and expectations. When we think we already have all the answers, we close our minds to learning opportunities. Existing knowledge comes with preconceptions, some of which may be outdated or counterproductive. Any product manager worth their salt should be able to demonstrate technical understanding, communicate effectively across functions, apply critical thinking, and be data-driven.īut beyond these baseline skills, what makes a product manager great ? As a VP of Product & Design, some of the best product managers I’ve worked with do the following… Skill #1: Great product managers know that they don’t know it allĭomain knowledge and experience are important strings to a product manager’s bow, but they can also hold them back. No wonder people refer to them as ‘mini CEOs’ or ‘CEOs of the product.’īecause it’s such a broad and varied role, it’s important that product managers possess a similarly broad and varied skillset. With their responsibilities straddling those of technical, business, and customer-facing roles, no two days are the same. The role of a product manager is complex.
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