Is Product Management Right for You? 10 Ways to Know

Are you wondering if product management may be a new path for your career? It’s an exciting, dynamic role, and one in which you get to build something and then watch as it makes it (or doesn’t) “out in the wild.” 

What is Product Management? 

First, a quick reminder about what this role is all about. Product management is the process of overseeing all aspects of a product's development, from conception to market launch and beyond. It involves a range of responsibilities, including defining the product vision and strategy, conducting market research, analyzing customer feedback, creating a go to market strategy, working with cross-functional teams to develop and launch the product and monitor its performance.

Accomplished product managers have more control over whether a product flies or flops because they use skills and tools that predict a potential product’s viability, guide it to fruition and market it strategically for success. So what skills does it take to make it as a product manager? 

10 Traits of a Great Product Manager

An effective product manager has a diverse set of skills, qualities, and characteristics that enable them to successfully drive the development and management of products. Here are my top 10 traits that make an effective product manager. Do these sound like you?

1. Communication Skills: Product managers bring multiple functions of the business together, so communication is key. You need to be able to convey the vision, product requirements,and priorities to various stakeholders, including developers, designers and executives.
2. People Leadership: Can you rally team members around a common goal? As a product manager, you’ll need to be able to lead cross-functional teams, set a vision for the product and inspire others to work towards common goals. 
3. Research Thinking: Product managers come to have expert intuition, but they don’t rely on opinions (their own or stakeholders’) to make decisions. Instead, they look for proof before they make a move. That means staying on top of market trends, competitors, and emerging technologies for the most informed market predictions and ultimately, product decisions.
4. Customer-Centric Mindset: Product managers develop a deep understanding of customer needs, pain points and preferences–using this knowledge to make product decisions that benefit their users.
5. User Testing and Feedback Integration: Product managers don’t just use research for predictive purposes. They also use it to test prototypes before launch. You’ll need to be adept at conducting user testing, gathering feedback and using it to iterate on the product at hand.
6. Business Acumen: Product managers come to understand the market and industry in which their product fits, including competitive landscapes, pricing strategies and revenue models.
7. Strategic Thinking: Product managers don’t just stick to the details. They bring a lot of value to the bigger picture. They  think long-term, set clear product goals, and develop a roadmap that aligns with the company's overall strategy.
8. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Product managers often work with diverse teams, so they excel at collaborating with engineers, designers, marketers and other stakeholders.
9. Problem-Solving Abilities: Product managers encounter various challenges throughout the product development cycle, so flexibility is essential. Product managers are problem-solvers. They find creative solutions. They adapt to changing circumstances.
10. Continuous Growth: Do you love to learn? The market and the process of product development is constantly evolving, so effective product managers change too. They are lifelong learners, committed to ongoing education and self-improvement.

Do a lot of these characteristics sound like you? Do the skills I describe align with your potential? If so, then think more about product management as your next role. And remember: you don’t need to have the full skill set when you start. Many people shift from a related role, like research, sales or marketing and round out the rest of the skills as they go. As long as you’re willing to learn quickly and continually grow, you can be a great product manager–and a crucial asset to your organization’s innovation pipeline.

Pro Tip: Still exploring the potential of this path? Another tool that may help you perform a self evaluation is the StrenthFinders 2.0 assessment. It is a simple assessment that identifies your strengths in executing, influencing, relationship building and strategic thinking–all of which are important to becoming an accomplished product manager. This will help you identify and evaluate your own strengths, and better decide if product management is the future for you.

What next?

If you’re ready to start your career shift to product management, here are some ideas for breaking into the product management field.

Posted in Starting out in Product Management  | Tagged Professional Development, Skills, Behavioral Changes

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