Ownership
Financial and Business Acumen: This competency is about understanding the financial and business implications of product decisions. Product managers must grasp the basics of business and finance, including how their decisions affect the product’s profitability and the company’s bottom line. They should be comfortable reading and interpreting financial statements, making budgetary decisions, and understanding market dynamics.
Customer and Data Focus: A customer and data-centric approach is crucial. Product managers need to be adept at gathering and analyzing data to make informed decisions. This involves user research, market analysis, and leveraging data analytics to understand customer behavior, preferences, and feedback. It’s about being deeply empathetic to customer needs while also relying on data to guide product strategy.
Product Delivery: Ensuring that products are delivered efficiently and effectively is a key competency. This involves managing the product lifecycle from conception through launch and beyond. It requires a deep understanding of the development process, the ability to work closely with engineering and design teams, and the skill to keep projects on track, within scope, and on budget.
People
Building Relationships and Influence: Product managers must excel at building and maintaining strong relationships across all levels of an organization. This competency involves influencing without authority, persuading others to buy into the product vision, and navigating organizational politics. It’s about earning trust and respect from team members, stakeholders, and customers.
Teamwork and Collaboration: Collaboration is at the heart of product development. A product manager must be able to work effectively with diverse teams, including engineering, design, marketing, sales, and customer support. This means fostering a collaborative environment, facilitating cross-functional teamwork, and ensuring everyone is aligned with the product’s goals and objectives.
Communication and Storytelling: Effective communication is critical. Product managers need to articulate the product vision, strategy, and value proposition clearly and compellingly. Storytelling is a powerful tool in this regard, helping to connect the product’s objectives with the needs and emotions of the audience, whether they are team members, stakeholders, or customers.
Improvement
Portfolio Management and Innovation: This competency involves managing the product portfolio to ensure it aligns with the company’s strategic goals while fostering innovation. Product managers should be able to evaluate the performance of existing products, identify opportunities for new products, and make decisions about where to invest resources for the best return.
Value Articulation and Prioritization: Articulating the value of products and prioritizing features and initiatives based on that value are key competencies. This requires a deep understanding of customer needs, market trends, and business objectives. Product managers must prioritize work that maximizes value, balancing short-term wins with long-term strategic goals.
Outcome-Driven Orientation: An outcome-driven approach focuses on achieving specific results rather than merely completing tasks. Product managers with this competency are focused on the impact of their decisions on customers and the business. They set clear, measurable objectives for the product and use these as benchmarks for success.