The Superpower for Highly Effective Product Managers
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The document discusses the importance of empathy as a superpower for product managers, highlighting that effective product management involves understanding and addressing the needs of various stakeholders. It emphasizes cultivating a strong support network through empathy and offers a cheat sheet for applying empathy in different scenarios, such as job hunting and collaboration with engineers, designers, and marketers. Ultimately, the practice of empathy is portrayed as essential for fostering successful product teams and achieving product excellence.
The Superpower for Highly Effective Product Managers
- 1. The Superpower Tauheed Ahmed Digital Product Leader | Mentor thatsetsapart Highly Effective Product Managers from the rest
- 2. ● Product managers need superpower ● The power that makes you super-PM ● What is really means ● When and how to apply it ● Cheat sheet The Plot
- 3. Product managers need superpower
- 4. Product Managers are expected to be Multi-disciplinary
- 5. Product Managers wear Many Hats
- 6. Product Managers have to say NO … a lot!
- 7. Awesome PM
- 9. Dan Olsen
- 11. then ... How do you lead cross-functional teams to build amazing products when you have no formal authority?
- 13. But they got superpowers...
- 14. Produce force fields and turn invisible Just Incredible! Super fast Grow and shrink to any size Shape shifter PMs could REALLY use these powers but...
- 15. ? What can make you Super-PM?
- 17. Empathy...what it really means
- 23. Applying Empathy
- 24. Applying Empathy To Win Customers
- 25. Empathy Map Helps to understand the ‘why’ behind users needs and actions
- 26. But that’s Not Enough… Just having customer empathy doesn’t guarantee product success
- 27. “Building products that customers love is possible only through a carefully coordinated and synchronized play among all stakeholders” Product Management is a Team Sport
- 28. Product managers can achieve that ‘coordinated and synchronized play’ by Practicing empathy. ...as it allows them to cultivate a support network that’s indispensable to launching amazing products.
- 29. The most effective PMs have the most effective support network. ● Their managers trust, support, back them and are invested in their success ● Their stakeholders and colleagues have faith in them, equally care about each others success and collaborate towards achieving a common goal Remember...
- 30. PM have to first EARN that trust and support. And the best way to earn it is by applying empathy at every interaction in your PM journey.
- 31. Applying Empathy
- 32. Applying Empathy To Get Hired
- 33. ● Empathize with the recruiter (needs, pain points) ● You are the “Product” and the recruiter is your main “Customer” ● What features is the recruiter looking for in the product/you? ● How do I present myself in a resume? You = ‘Product’ ; Recruiter = ‘Customer’
- 34. Now What?
- 35. Applying Empathy To Make Good First Impressions
- 36. ● Acknowledge - you probably know the least ● Don’t rush to judgement, listen first. ● Ask questions, show your willingness to learn ● Provide value within the existing working model ● If you see opportunities to improve, don’t rush, do it gradually ● Before proposing a new way of working, make them see how/why it’s better
- 37. Applying Empathy To Manage Stakeholders
- 38. Managing Manager ● Understand what your manager needs from you to succeed in his/her role ● Don’t wait for directions, proactively anticipate the need and act ● Comunicate (status update) at regular intervals, even when not asked for ● Proactively address disagreements.
- 39. Software Developers ● Knows the best technology to use ● Knows the best way to architect the solution ● Knows the best programming language to use So ● PM decides what to build, not how to build ● Take a programming class
- 40. Designers (UX) ● Skills most overlap with PMs ● Creative process, sometimes lack structure So ● Allow room for creative exploration ● Take a UX design class PM DESIGNER
- 41. Marketing Manager ● Amazing product without a good GTM strategy always fails ● Agree on ownership and product goal ● Rely on PMM to understand effective marketing strategy, then tweak the product as necessary ● Rely on their expertise to ‘sell’ and ‘communicate’
- 42. Apply the same thought process in dealing with all stakeholders
- 43. Cheat Sheet
- 44. Scenario Empathetic product manager’s approach Customer development Empathize with the target personas. Understand their needs, wants and frustrations to identify the gap that your product can solve. Looking for a PM job Understand the recruiter and the hiring manager’s needs and pain points in hiring. Be thoughtful while creating your resume and cover letters to cater to their specific need. Highlight your experiences and skill that’s most relevant to the job posting. Anticipate their questions and concerns and be proactive in addressing them. When new to the job Don’t rush to judgement. Listen first. Understand why things are the way they are, before suggesting improvements. Show willingness to learn and ask questions. Over communicate. Empathy Cheat Sheet for Product Managers - 1
- 45. Scenario Empathetic product manager’s approach Working with engineers Understand the ownerships and boundaries. Engineers own the final decision on implementation (architecture, infrastructure, language etc)...how to build. PMs own and dictate the functional requirements and overall direction of the product...what to build and why. Build empathy by learning about the development process. Working with designers The role with the most overlap (UX specially), so agree on ownerships and working model early on. Allow designers autonomy/space needed for creative thinking. Collaborate on most decisions and use data to resolve disagreements. Learn about the design process. Working with marketing Understand the criticality of a GTM strategy and marketing campaigns and partner with PMMs to define product goal and KPIs early on. Develop your own knowledge on marketing/selling tactics, so your products decisions are informed by them. Empathy Cheat Sheet for Product Managers - 2
- 46. So go… and Be Empathetic