"The More We Limit Ourselves, the More Resourceful We Become: What It Takes to Become a Great Product Manager"

"The More We Limit Ourselves, the More Resourceful We Become: What It Takes to Become a Great Product Manager"

As an aspiring product manager (PM), there are three primary considerations when evaluating the role: Core Competencies, Emotional Intelligence (EQ), and Company Fit. However, it is important to question the traditional notion of a PM's authority over various aspects of product success. Martin Eriksson points out that PMs do not have direct authority over most of the things needed to make their products successful, such as user research, design, marketing, sales, and support. This challenges the conventional view and necessitates a deeper understanding of what it truly takes to become a great PM.

Core Competencies are essential for any PM. These competencies include conducting customer interviews, user testing, market assessments, and defining and tracking success metrics. The best PMs refine these skills over time through experience and continuous learning. By mastering these core competencies, PMs can effectively define, ship, and iterate on products.

Emotional Intelligence (EQ) plays a crucial role in a PM's success. While knowing the basics of customer interviews is important, the best PMs possess the ability to empathize with customers, read their body language and emotions, and identify pain points that the product or feature can address. Relationship management is another vital aspect of EQ for PMs. By forming authentic and trustworthy connections with internal and external stakeholders, great PMs inspire people and help them reach their full potential. Additionally, self-awareness and self-management are critical for PMs to remain objective, avoid projecting personal preferences onto users, and effectively handle the stress that comes with the role.

Social awareness is another dimension of EQ that PMs must possess. Understanding customers' emotions, concerns, and needs is as important as understanding the concerns of other teams, such as sales, support, and engineering. PMs must have empathy, organizational awareness, and a service-oriented mindset to effectively collaborate with different stakeholders and ensure the product's success.

Company Fit is a crucial factor in a PM's journey. Different companies have varying expectations from PMs, and aligning skills and traits with the right company is essential for long-term success. Technical skill requirements vary based on the product, target users, and company type. The company's philosophy about PMs and their role in the product development process also differs. Some companies adopt a PM-driven approach, where PMs gather requirements and hand them off to engineering, while others have an engineering-driven approach, with PMs validating solutions created by engineers. The PM-engineering partnership is another model, where PMs and engineers collaborate closely, share decision-making, and have joint accountability. The stage of the company also influences the PM's responsibilities, with startup PMs often handling multiple aspects beyond product development, while PMs at mature companies have a more defined role within a larger team. Additionally, understanding the relationship between the founder/CTO/CEO and the PM is crucial, as the level of involvement can impact the PM's responsibilities and autonomy.

In conclusion, becoming a great PM requires a combination of core competencies, emotional intelligence, and finding the right company fit. It is essential to challenge traditional notions of a PM's authority and focus on developing the skills and traits that truly drive product success. To become a great PM, aspiring professionals should:

• 1. Continuously develop core competencies through practice, learning from experienced PMs, and staying updated with industry trends.

• 2. Cultivate emotional intelligence by empathizing with customers, building strong relationships, and practicing self-awareness and self-management.

• 3. Carefully evaluate company fit by considering technical skill requirements, the company's philosophy about PMs, the nature of the PM-engineering partnership, the stage of the company, and the relationship between the founder/CTO/CEO and the PM.

By prioritizing these actions, aspiring PMs can navigate their career path with clarity and increase their chances of becoming great product managers.