Managing product managers is a nuanced problem that extends past customary management expertise. When you probably have what it takes, given that you just’ve already landed the position, there are widespread pitfalls that may undermine your staff’s effectiveness and general success. Let’s delve into these potential points and the way to keep away from them.
I first grew to become a supervisor again in 2000. My supervisor was leaving and I bought his job, beginning to handle 6 builders who had 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 had been assigned to us with out a selection 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 knowledgeable dialog, however she actually shocked me together with her solutions.
She instructed me she didn’t like coding. She didn’t wish to be a developer. She didn’t wish 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 industrial 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 individual on my staff, but it surely appeared like I didn’t have a selection. I had no thought the way to take it from right here.
Fortunately for me, I used to be associates with an skilled supervisor who grew to become my mentor. I shared with him my scenario and he had an fascinating recommendation: He stated I ought to give her a variety of duty, throwing her within the deep finish instantly.
I questioned that technique — in any case, can I belief somebody who doesn’t wish to be right here with an essential side of our mission? However since I had no higher various I needed to give it a attempt. I assigned her to be accountable for the cybersecurity of our mission. It concerned integrating authentication and reporting methods, in addition to coding practices that the whole staff 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, keep in mind?), possession of a website I knew nothing about, studying all the main points myself to ensure 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 simple, however I believe we nailed it.
By the point I left the staff, she was an essential contributor to our success. She later grew to become an officer and even managed a staff herself. I lately discovered that she is now not in tech, I assume she discovered her actual ardour in any case.
This story represents so many challenges in managing sensible individuals: You wish to give them freedom, however nonetheless personal their success. It is advisable to assist and foster their private {and professional} progress. You wish to increase the bar continually and maintain them accountable for reaching new heights.
And on the subject of managing product managers, the challenges are even higher.
Product managers have ‘supervisor’ within the job title for a purpose. Whereas they don’t handle individuals, they nonetheless handle many issues. And once you turn out to be a supervisor of product managers, you at the moment are a supervisor of managers, even when HR-wise you might be solely a first-level supervisor.
Managing managers is an entire totally different recreation. Listed here are the widespread pitfalls that I see and that you just wish to keep away from.
As you may see in my story above, I didn’t have a variety 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 an ideal supervisor is understanding and nurturing the people in your staff.
It’s true for any supervisor, however the purpose it’s a pitfall is that I see too many managers pondering that product managers are “grown-ups” and, due to this fact, managing them ought to give attention to the practical features of the job and the private administration could possibly be left apart.
It is a mistake for just a few causes. First, it’s well-known that folks go away managers, not corporations. So being a superb supervisor — one which cares about their staff and their growth — is a should to have the ability to retain good individuals in your staff. Second, sensible individuals’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 purpose is extra distinctive to product administration.
Product administration is a occupation of the guts. Most product managers are deeply invested in what they do, and what occurs of their private lives immediately impacts their efficiency. In the event you don’t handle that side you miss a crucial alternative to impression 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 staff members’ aspirations and challenges, each private {and professional}. Make sure that every member of your staff has a growth plan that he’s conscious of and proud of. Make it your duty to get there.
I as soon as coached a product chief who, on the floor, appeared to have all of it collectively. Her staff of product managers was well-organized, met deadlines constantly, and maintained a harmonious work setting. From the surface, it seemed like a textbook instance of excellent administration.
Nevertheless, a major problem emerged as we dug deeper all through our teaching periods. 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 had been every engaged on disparate tasks, however there was no cohesive technique tying them collectively. When requested concerning 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 actually proudly owning the success of their area. A core duty of the product chief is to ensure individuals work on the proper priorities. In the event you solely handle their work slightly than their broader context, how are you going to guarantee they work on the proper issues?
By giving up on technique as a part of your management, you’re dropping an important lever. It’s your job to guarantee all the pieces matches into the larger image, and with out this strategic oversight, the flexibility to ship significant outcomes is severely compromised. You would possibly discover your staff working arduous however not making vital progress in direction of the corporate’s objectives.
I personally discover this half probably the most fascinating within the product chief’s job, so I can’t perceive why anybody would wish to quit on it, however even should you like different elements of the job higher, you may’t afford to place this essential half apart.
In the event you really feel you might be falling into an limitless prioritization course of, having to take care of plenty of particulars that don’t essentially add up, or unable to supply a transparent roadmap and imaginative and prescient in your area — you might have in all probability fallen into this lure.
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 wish to take your area. Interact 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, answerable for a major a part of the corporate’s product portfolio. Embrace this position. Personal your area’s success. Your staff shall 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 delight themselves on their hands-off method. “I don’t wish to micromanage,” they inform me. “I belief my staff to make the proper selections.”
At first look, this would possibly appear to be a really perfect state of affairs. With everybody speaking about empowered groups, this looks as if the proper factor to do. However as we dig deeper, it turns into clear that this well-intentioned method is definitely a pitfall in disguise.
True empowerment doesn’t imply leaving your staff to fend for themselves. It means offering them with the context, steerage, and assist they should make knowledgeable selections and take significant motion.
As a supervisor of product managers, your position is to create an setting the place your staff can thrive. This entails setting clear expectations, offering common suggestions, and sure, typically making robust calls. It means being actively concerned in your staff’s work, not as a micromanager, however as a mentor and information. It is advisable to give them path and ensure they work on the right issues that want fixing.
To get there, it’s essential to construct your staff’s capabilities and confidence so you may regularly improve their autonomy as they exhibit 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 ensure everybody goes in the proper path.
Take into consideration your self once 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 wish 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 staff that’s actually empowered — assured of their skills, clear of their path, and supported of their progress. Most significantly, you’ll have a staff that’s not simply busy however efficient — delivering significant outcomes that drive actual worth in your clients and your small business.
