Over the past few years, I've had the pleasure of coaching many aspiring and new product managers. I've seen firsthand the challenges and opportunities that they face, and I've learned a lot from them.
In this blog post, I'll share some of the key insights and gotchas I co-discovered with my mentees during our coaching discussions. I hope that this will help aspiring product managers who are looking to break into the field or simply grow in their careers.
Be passionate for the products you care about
If you're not passionate about the products around you, it's going to be hard to succeed as a product manager. You need to be all in on the products you love (and hate), and you need to be able to live and breathe them.
Mentee story: The one thing that stood out when I spoke with Ashley (aspiring PM) was that she was passionate about fitness in her life. She was a part time yoga and Zumba trainer and had a lot of experience working with people on their fitness goals.
I suggested she build her own fitness app since she was always talking about fitness and coming up with new ideas on how to coach better. She realized that she was good at understanding the needs of the users, and she was able to translate those needs into features that would make the app more valuable. This became her de factor capstone PM project which helped her get a break in the PM role.
Be a persuasive story teller
Product managers need to be good communicators. They need to be able to clearly articulate their ideas to a variety of stakeholders, including engineers, designers, and executives. They also need to be able to listen to others and understand their perspectives.
Mentee story: Ben was struggling with communication at work when he reached out to me. He was a great well-respected engineer, but he had a hard time articulating his ideas to other people. He would often get flustered in meetings, and he would have a hard time answering questions (even when he knew the most of all in the room).
Ben was a classic example of someone who needed to improve their communication skills. He is a smart guy, but he just wasn't able to get his point across effectively earlier. After working on some comms frameworks and impromptu drills, he gained awareness of his blind spots and worked deliberately on a number of exercises to improve his communication skills, and he eventually got a lot better at articulating his ideas.
Be able to think strategically and tactically
Product managers need to be able to think both strategically and tactically. They need to be able to see the big picture and understand the long-term goals of the product, but they also need to be able to break down large features into smaller, more manageable milestones.
Mentee Story: I coached Anisha who was a UX designer who was interested in transitioning to product management. She was passionate about the user experience, but she was struggling with the know-how to turn them into reality. She didn't know how to break down large ideas into smaller, more manageable features and milestones, and she didn't know how to play by the ear and the art of adapting her plans as needed.
Anisha is a great example of someone who needed to improve their strategic and tactical skills at the time. I worked with her on a number of framworks on defining user outcomes and prioritization to help her improve her strategic and tactical skills, and she eventually got a lot better at defining MVP and roadmap milestones.
Be able to fail fast and be humble learn from your mistakes
Product managers need to be able to fail fast and learn from their mistakes. The product development process is often iterative, and there will be times when things don't go according to plan. It's important to be able to learn from your mistakes and pivot when necessary.
Mentee Story: Shyam is a A-lister and academic wonderboy who had never really seen failure and was really afraid of it. He was so afraid of failing that he would often avoid taking risks. This was holding him back from being a successful product manager.
Shyam was a classic example of a risk-averse engineet-turned-PM who needed to learn to fail fast. He was so afraid of failing that he was never willing to take any risks. I worked with him on the science of creating hypothesis and using A/B testing to learn to fail fast. And he eventually got a lot better at taking calculated risks and hypothesis driven test and lean approach.
Be persistent and resilient
Product managers need to be persistent and resilient. There will be times when things get tough, but it's important to keep going. Don't give up on your dreams, even when things get tough.
Mentee Story: Tim was really struggling after he was laid off from his job. He was feeling really down, and he didn't know if he would ever find another job.
Tim personifies someone early on in career who needed to learn to be persistent and resilient. He was so down on himself that he was about to give up on his dream of becoming a product manager. With coaching and couselling, he eventually got a lot better at picking himself up and dusting himself off after setbacks.
Thanks for reaching this far. I hope these insights and tips have been helpful. If you're interested in a career in product management, I encourage you to keep the above learnings in mind. I wish you all the best in your journey to becoming a product manager!
P.S. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me. I'm always happy to help the product manager community!
Bonus tips:
- Get involved in a product management community. There are a number of online and offline communities where you can connect with other product managers. This is a great way to learn from others, share your experiences, and get advice.
- Read books and articles about product management regularly. There are a number of great resources available that can help you learn about product management. These resources can provide you with insights into the role, as well as best practices for success.
- Take online courses or workshops on product management. There are a number of online courses and workshops that can teach you the basics of product management. These courses can be a great way to get started in the field.