Managing product managers is a nuanced problem that extends past normal management expertise. When you possible have what it takes, given that you just’ve already landed the position, there are widespread pitfalls that may undermine your group’s effectiveness and total success. Let’s delve into these potential points and the right way to keep away from them.
I first turned a supervisor again in 2000. My supervisor was leaving and I bought his job, beginning to handle 6 builders who have been beforehand my friends.
On the primary day of my new position, I discovered that I had been assigned one other developer. Because it was within the Israeli Air Drive (IAF), we bought builders recent from coaching, they usually have been assigned to us with out a alternative within the matter.
Nonetheless studying what I wanted to do, I took the brand new developer to a welcome dialog. I needed to get to know her, perceive what she needed to do, and discover the very best match for her. I anticipated an expert dialog, however she actually shocked me together with her solutions.
She instructed me she didn’t like coding. She didn’t need to be a developer. She didn’t need to be there. It doesn’t matter what I requested her, what angle I attempted, the reply was the identical.
I used to be puzzled. In contrast to in a business firm, I couldn’t simply let her go. She had signed with the military to serve for five years (!). I didn’t need an unmotivated particular person on my group, but it surely appeared like I didn’t have a alternative. I had no concept the right way to take it from right here.
Fortunately for me, I used to be pals with an skilled supervisor who turned my mentor. I shared with him my state of affairs and he had an fascinating recommendation: He mentioned I ought to give her loads of accountability, throwing her within the deep finish instantly.
I questioned that technique — in any case, can I belief somebody who doesn’t need to be right here with an necessary side of our undertaking? However since I had no higher various I needed to give it a strive. I assigned her to be accountable for the cybersecurity of our undertaking. It concerned integrating authentication and reporting programs, in addition to coding practices that your entire group wanted to stick to.
Fortunately for me, she didn’t need bother. She was pleasant and revered my management, so she did the job.
I, alternatively, wanted to observe administration (which I used to be nonetheless new to, bear in mind?), possession of a website I knew nothing about, studying all the small print myself to verify it made sense, and on the identical time avoiding micromanagement since that might have contradicted what I used to be attempting to do together with her private {and professional} growth.
It wasn’t straightforward, however I believe we nailed it.
By the point I left the group, she was an necessary contributor to our success. She later turned an officer and even managed a group herself. I lately discovered that she is now not in tech, I suppose she discovered her actual ardour in any case.
This story represents so many challenges in managing sensible folks: You need to give them freedom, however nonetheless personal their success. You want to help and foster their private {and professional} development. You need to elevate the bar always and preserve them accountable for reaching new heights.
And in terms of managing product managers, the challenges are even higher.
Product managers have ‘supervisor’ within the job title for a cause. Whereas they don’t handle folks, they nonetheless handle many issues. And if you turn out to be a supervisor of product managers, you are actually a supervisor of managers, even when HR-wise you’re solely a first-level supervisor.
Managing managers is a complete totally different sport. Listed below are the widespread pitfalls that I see and that you just need to keep away from.
As you possibly can see in my story above, I didn’t have loads of grace as a brand new supervisor earlier than I wanted to take care of private issues. Whether or not you prefer it or not, a serious a part of being a terrific supervisor is understanding and nurturing the people in your group.
It’s true for any supervisor, however the cause it’s a pitfall is that I see too many managers considering that product managers are “grown-ups” and, due to this fact, managing them ought to deal with the useful elements of the job and the private administration may very well be left apart.
This can be a mistake for a couple of causes. First, it’s well-known that individuals depart managers, not firms. So being a superb supervisor — one which cares about their staff and their growth — is a should to have the ability to retain good folks in your group. Second, sensible folks’s motivation is tightly correlated with the extent of problem they expertise, particularly when it’s aligned with their profession objectives. These are true for a lot of professions.
The third cause is extra distinctive to product administration.
Product administration is a career of the guts. Most product managers are deeply invested in what they do, and what occurs of their private lives instantly impacts their efficiency. Should you don’t handle that side you miss a crucial alternative to influence your relationship in addition to their efficiency.
To keep away from this pitfall, make this a precedence. Common one-on-ones ought to transcend standing updates to perceive group members’ aspirations and challenges, each private {and professional}. Be certain that every member of your group has a growth plan that he’s conscious of and pleased with. Make it your accountability to get there.
I as soon as coached a product chief who, on the floor, appeared to have all of it collectively. Her group of product managers was well-organized, met deadlines persistently, and maintained a harmonious work surroundings. From the surface, it appeared like a textbook instance of fine administration.
Nevertheless, a big concern emerged as we dug deeper all through our teaching classes. Whereas this chief excelled at day-to-day operations, she struggled to articulate a transparent imaginative and prescient for her area. I used to be shocked to study that her product managers have been every engaged on disparate tasks, however there was no cohesive technique tying them collectively. When requested in regards to the long-term roadmap or how their work contributed to the corporate’s broader objectives, she would defer to her particular person product managers or higher-ups.
That is an instance of one other widespread pitfall for managers of product managers: specializing in skilled administration with out really proudly owning the success of their area. A core accountability of the product chief is to verify folks work on the best priorities. Should you solely handle their work reasonably than their broader context, how are you going to guarantee they work on the best issues?
By giving up on technique as a part of your management, you’re shedding a vital lever. It’s your job to guarantee every part matches into the larger image, and with out this strategic oversight, the power to ship significant outcomes is severely compromised. You would possibly discover your group working onerous however not making vital progress in the direction of the corporate’s objectives.
I personally discover this half essentially the most fascinating within the product chief’s job, so I can’t perceive why anybody would need to hand over on it, however even in case you like different components of the job higher, you possibly can’t afford to place this necessary half apart.
Should you really feel you’re falling into an countless prioritization course of, having to take care of numerous particulars that don’t essentially add up, or unable to offer a transparent roadmap and imaginative and prescient in your area — you’ve gotten most likely fallen into this entice.
To keep away from it, begin by clearly defining your area, be sure to perceive it properly, and create your strategic roadmap. This isn’t only a assortment of your product managers’ particular person plans however a cohesive imaginative and prescient for the place you need to take your area. Have interaction with stakeholders throughout the group to know how your area matches into the larger image and be proactive in figuring out alternatives and threats.
Keep in mind, as a supervisor of product managers, you’re not only a facilitator. You’re a product chief in your individual proper, liable for a big a part of the corporate’s product portfolio. Embrace this position. Personal your area’s success. Your group can be extra aligned, extra motivated, and in the end extra profitable after they see you main with imaginative and prescient and function, guaranteeing that each effort contributes to significant outcomes.
In my years of teaching product leaders, I typically see a recurring theme that masquerades as progressive management. Many newly promoted managers of product managers satisfaction themselves on their hands-off strategy. “I don’t need to micromanage,” they inform me. “I belief my group to make the best choices.”
At first look, this would possibly look like a really perfect state of affairs. With everybody speaking about empowered groups, this looks like the best factor to do. However as we dig deeper, it turns into clear that this well-intentioned strategy is definitely a pitfall in disguise.
True empowerment doesn’t imply leaving your group to fend for themselves. It means offering them with the context, steerage, and help they should make knowledgeable choices and take significant motion.
As a supervisor of product managers, your position is to create an surroundings the place your group can thrive. This includes setting clear expectations, offering common suggestions, and sure, typically making powerful calls. It means being actively concerned in your group’s work, not as a micromanager, however as a mentor and information. You want to give them path and ensure they work on the proper issues that want fixing.
To get there, it’s worthwhile to construct your group’s capabilities and confidence so you possibly can steadily improve their autonomy as they display readiness. However even then it doesn’t imply that you just let go completely. True empowerment goes hand in hand with tight technique, well-explained priorities, and common check-ins to verify everybody goes in the best path.
Take into consideration your self if you don’t get steerage and path out of your supervisor. It doesn’t really feel like empowerment, does it? It typically feels extra like abandonment. Likewise, your product managers wish to you for management. They need to know that there’s a gentle hand on the tiller, whilst they’re given room to steer their very own course. By offering construction, steerage, and clear objectives, you’re not stifling their autonomy — you’re enabling it.
True empowerment is a balancing act. It’s about figuring out when to step in and when to step again. It’s about creating a security internet that encourages daring strikes whereas mitigating catastrophic falls. By avoiding this pitfall, you’ll create a group that’s really empowered — assured of their talents, clear of their path, and supported of their development. Most significantly, you’ll have a group that’s not simply busy however efficient — delivering significant outcomes that drive actual worth in your prospects and what you are promoting.
