{"id":8336,"date":"2019-02-28T10:00:50","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T15:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.brainstation.io\/?p=8336"},"modified":"2020-11-24T18:43:00","modified_gmt":"2020-11-24T23:43:00","slug":"what-skills-does-a-product-manager-need","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/what-skills-does-a-product-manager-need","title":{"rendered":"What Skills Does a Product Manager Need?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Product Managers have the enviable job of taking a product from its roots as an idea and steering its lifecycle through launch and beyond.<\/span><\/p>\n

Often referred to as \u201cmini-CEOs\u201d of a product, these specialists must possess a wide variety of skills and competencies to propel a product to success. It\u2019s no wonder Product Managers are so well-compensated; Hired\u2019s 2017 <\/span>Global State of Tech Salaries<\/span><\/a> survey found that Product Managers\u2019 average salary of $138,000 was the very highest of any tech role. Unsurprisingly, LinkedIn now lists Product Manager as one of the <\/span>most promising jobs<\/span><\/a>, s these roles saw a 30 percent year-over-year growth rate in job openings.<\/span><\/p>\n

If that sounds appealing, here are some of the skills needed to break into and thrive in this rapidly growing role.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Learn product management skills to boost your career \u2013 from home!<\/p>\n

BrainStation offers Online Live Certificate Courses<\/a> in data, design, development, marketing, and product management. Attend live classes and interact with Instructors and peers from anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n

Speak to a Learning Advisor<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Personal Skills Are Essential for Product Managers<\/b><\/p>\n

According to BrainStation\u2019s <\/span>2019 Digital Skills Survey<\/span><\/a>, 88 percent of Product Managers polled began their careers in a different field, a number higher than any other discipline. <\/span><\/p>\n

It makes sense then that the most crucial skills for Product Managers are intangible people skills \u2013 otherwise known as soft skills, but we\u2019ll discuss that later \u2013 which tend to be more transferable from position to position and industry to industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

In BrainStation\u2019s survey, Product Managers ranked communication (71 percent), leadership (65 percent), and empathy (58 percent) as the most important skills for a Product Manager, ahead of research and project management, and far ahead of design (selected by only 20 percent of respondents).<\/span><\/p>\n

The survey also found that 62 percent of respondents worked on teams of 10 or fewer, and collaboration is a constant; in fact, Product Managers polled reported that collaboration was the second-most time-consuming function of their job, behind only developing specs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I wish somebody had told me when I started working as a Product Manager is: \u2018Don\u2019t be a hero,\u2019\u201d <\/span>wrote<\/span><\/a> Matt LeMay, Partner at <\/span>Sudden Compass<\/span>. \u201cSelf-styled \u2018visionary\u2019 Product Managers are dangerous \u2013 which is why I advise against hiring PM candidates who fire off (Steve Jobs) quotes during job interviews.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cProduct management is fundamentally about making connections and creating understanding across different roles, <\/span>not<\/span><\/i> about telling people what to do. It\u2019s a <\/span>supportive <\/span><\/i>role, not a visionary role.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Interestingly, BrainStation\u2019s survey found that the most-used tools for brainstorming and ideation among Product Managers do not require a high degree of technical expertise: whiteboarding sessions (66 percent) and pen-and-paper (53 percent) were most popular.<\/span><\/p>\n

Given the emphasis on \u201csoft\u201d skills, it\u2019s possible Product Managers are looking to professional development to fill in the gaps in their skill sets. 71 percent of Product Managers reported participating in workshops, roughly 65 percent in both online and in-person courses, and 55 percent in webinars.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the emotional intelligence \u2013 or \u201cEQ\u201d \u2013 that seems so crucial to a good Product Manager is much harder to teach.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEQ is more important (than IQ),\u201d <\/span>said<\/span><\/a> Sam Lessin, former VP of Product Management at Facebook. \u201cProduct Managers get huge value from being highly empathetic with a team, not just with users. There are plenty of smart people, but not enough with EQ.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI have never successfully trained empathy, so you have to hire for it.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Technical Skills for Product Management<\/b><\/p>\n

A question that comes up often among would-be Product Managers is: \u201chow technical do I have to be?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Lulu Cheng, Product Manager at Pinterest, <\/span>wrote<\/span><\/a> about what it means to be \u201ctechnical enough\u201d to perform her role. Ultimately, she determined that all Product Managers should be able to: trace user issues back to the underlying problem; estimate how long different options will take to build; anticipate implementation issues; brainstorm technical solutions; and identify opportunities that arise from new technologies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Taking a deeper look, some competencies do seem to be a near-requirement across the industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

The question of whether a Product Manager needs to know how to code is controversial, but Product Managers should at least learn <\/span>about<\/span><\/i> code. <\/span><\/p>\n

At Google, the final stage of <\/span>Product Manager interviews<\/span> requires candidates to whiteboard coding questions with a senior engineer on-hand to evaluate.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other companies might not require such a high degree of coding competence, but most agree that in order to communicate effectively with developers and engineers, a Product Manager should have a solid grasp of the fundamentals.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cProduct Managers don\u2019t need to be able to write code. But they should be able to speak the technical language of their industry \u2013 and translate that language to the less technically inclined,\u201d <\/span>said<\/span><\/a> Latif Nanji, Co-founder and CEO of <\/span>Roadmunk<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other technical skills or competencies are similarly viewed as required at most companies.<\/span><\/p>\n

An often-shared Venn diagram positions Product Managers at the nexus of technology, business, and user experience \u2013 or, as Marty Cagan wrote in his <\/span>book<\/span> Inspired, the goal of a Product Manager is to \u201cdiscover a product that is valuable, usable, and feasible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It follows, then, that Product Managers are expected to understand data analytics, including product launch metrics, A\/B testing, and standard measurement platforms such as Google Analytics. Similarly, all Product Managers should be comfortable drawing out wireframes and evaluating UX. And Product Managers are expected to understand software development lifecycle methodologies, such as the commonly used Agile methodology Scrum. You will also be expected to produce competitive analyses and status reports.<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, experts are emphasizing a shift away from the differentiation between \u201chard\u201d and \u201csoft\u201d skills. LeMay writes instead about the importance of \u201cconnective\u201d skills.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve often been asked how to balance \u2018hard skills\u2019 and \u2018soft skills\u2019 when hiring a PM. Frankly, I think this very distinction is often what stops companies from identifying the best potential PMs, and what stops PMs from feeling confident in their work,\u201d he wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt its worst, this idea compels companies to hire the candidates who are the most like engineers, not the candidates who will make the best Product Managers,\u201d he added. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe differentiating factor between success and failure is not being \u2018technical enough,\u2019 but rather being adept at making <\/span>connections <\/span><\/i>between different sets of values and expertise.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A Product Manager Will Depend on Critical Thinking<\/b><\/p>\n

Beyond the intangible skills we covered, a good Product Manager needs to develop a skill set for curiosity, intellectual rigor, and being able to stay tightly focused on an organization\u2019s broader goals.<\/span><\/p>\n

Product Managers need to be adept at identifying problems worth solving, both within the broader marketplace and the product they\u2019re developing. They need to understand which products their target customers will buy, and they must learn to ideate and test a minimum viable product to ensure a product idea will meet customers\u2019 needs. They also need to be able to assess how best to utilize their team members\u2019 time and skills \u2013 not to mention how to run an efficient meeting.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another secret to being a successful Product Manager? Staying modest and developing a thick skin, writes Cheng, since scrutiny and criticism are crucial to creating a valuable, viable product.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s your job to come up with the initial spec or Google Drawings mock that everyone else then picks apart,\u201d she wrote. \u201cThe point isn\u2019t that you proposed a crappy strawman (most first drafts are), but that this gets the conversation started.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Find out more about BrainStation’s Product Management Certification Courses<\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Often referred to as \u201cmini-CEOs\u201d of a product, Product Managers are now in great demand. Here’s what you need to thrive in this role. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":8338,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[228],"tags":[531,150,691,229],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Skills Does a Product Manager Need?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What do you need to break into and thrive in product management? 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