After heading consumer products for a couple of years, I gradually grew concerned that my product management team was becoming overwhelmed.
There were early signs of burnout in the team. Tensions rose. Some critical tasks were falling through the cracks.
I struggled with that, knowing that being a product manager is tough!
To stand out, you must distill and prioritize the problems your customers face, using the lens of what the business priorities are.
You need to constantly remind the product team about why you’re building the product in the first place.
And eventually, the buck stops with you regarding product success.
That’s a lot to handle.
My peer in the enterprise team shared the same concern, so we worked together on a plan.
After a few weeks of exchanges, we landed on the following solution: let team members build on their strengths by splitting our product managers into product builders and category managers.
In a nutshell, product builders were more at ease in capturing customer problems and translating these into product requirements working principally with the product team (designers, developers…).
Category managers were more your typical MBA-type, focused on the business part, and would interface more with marketing and sales.
Brilliant idea!
Or so we thought…
It ended up being a disaster.
After a few quarters, I reverted to the previous all-encompassing product manager role.
So, what went wrong? What did we miss?
First, we underestimated the confusion we would bring into our product managers’ heads. Some appreciated our willingness to help and offload their already full plate. But, the vast majority couldn’t fathom a truncated role.
Every product manager had to connect intimately to the business while discovering the right solutions to relevant customer problems.
Second, we did not see the forest from the trees. Instead of only trying to solve the product manager’s overextension issue, we should have focused on creating a system that allows the product to shine.
We did, eventually. A few years later.
We built a system that streamlined all our product-related processes. With it, we found better ways to capture the voice of the customer. We created more engagement and transparency between the product and the business teams.
In that case, it was a significant undertaking – we called it “Project Phoenix” – where all the relevant functions, from product design, development, and management, to operations, marketing, and sales, worked together on a new “operational system” for our business unit.
I did most of the facilitation. The next time it happens, I might bring in some Product Ops talent.
It’s the partner who loves a healthy team environment, empowers others, and focuses on better outcomes for the product team and business at large.
Yet, in the end, this taught me a powerful lesson:
As a product leader, do anything to help your product managers be more focused and give their best.
By best, I mean something close to what I already shared in my 2021 article about Good and Bad Product Managers.
Most functions are essential, but enabling your product managers will make it easier to empower the whole organization.