Key steps and skills to becoming a product manager

By: Folagbade Oluwatimilehin  

It feels like only yesterday, wandering through Joseph Ayo Babalola University as an undergrad, when I first encountered the term ‘Product Manager.’ The tech scene in Nigeria was just starting to flourish, and it was when I was trying to build my first startup, which was an online delivery platform, that I stumbled on this role.

I later listened to a speaker at an event talk about product management and explain what the role was to the best of his ability. My pricked interest got me searching more about the role later on YouTube. So, like you – if you are a novice about tech like I once was – you are currently asking, “What is product management?”

As Ashley Parame of thinkful.com simply puts it:

“Product management refers to the organizational role that deals with overseeing the entire process and life cycle of a product.”

If that is too basic a definition, then my opinion of what product management is, is a strategic function that guides every step of a product’s lifecycle, from development to positioning and pricing, by focusing on the product and its customers first and foremost. It involves understanding and addressing the needs of the market, defining the vision for a product, aligning the team around that vision, and prioritizing work to turn the vision into reality.

I understood the above definitions of product management over the years, first as a student of the role, and then as a product manager who oversaw products for years. This perhaps raises the second question. “Who is a product manager and what does it take to become one?”

I love Julia Austin of Havard Business Review’s definition, she said:

“…the best Product Managers create products with strong user adoption that have exponential revenue growth and perhaps even disrupt an industry.”

A simpler version of that definition will be that, a product manager acts as the bridge between various teams such as engineering, design, marketing, and sales, ensuring that the product aligns with the company’s goals and meets customer expectations.

To put it in relatable terms, consider organizing a party where various vendors – including the caterer, baker, decorator, media team, security, and ushers – must all collaborate to ensure the event’s success. In this scenario, the product manager acts like the event planner, orchestrating and monitoring each vendor’s contributions to guarantee that the party (in this case the product) unfolds flawlessly and delights all attendees.

In my sojourn as a product manager and later as a founder (of more than four products and with experience of ~5 years), I have come to know and agree that there are several skills that a person must possess (either inherently or learnt) for them to succeed as a product manager.

While different writers may break these skills into different parts, Julia Austin who has taught courses on product management for years at Harvard Business School breaks it into three major skill sets. Core Competence Skills, Emotional Intelligence Skills and Company Fit Skills.

Core Competence Skills

These are the basic skills that every product manager must possess if they are to effectively manage a product life cycle. They include logical reasoning skills to understand the market need, define and understand the product vision, prioritization of product features, the art of allocating resources, defining, tracking and measuring KPIs, and organising user interviews and user testing, among several other skills. These skills are compulsory for anyone who desires to become a product manager; hence, they must be acquired via training, personal studies or mentoring.

Emotional Intelligence Skills

Just as the party analogy above, as it takes a lot of EQ for an event planner to manage an event, so also does it take a lot of emotional intelligence to succeed as a product manager. Several individuals work on a product; hence, a product manager needs to be a relationship manager, managing both the internal and external stakeholders in the product for the product to succeed. This requires emotional intelligence skills. The role of a product manager is undeniably stressful, demanding expert emotional self-management. Amidst the clamour of stakeholder demands, a PM must remain unflustered to prevent any negative impact on the team and the product. Additionally, a PM needs emotional intelligence skills as it helps them to be socially aware. Products are designed for people and not robots. Hence, it takes someone who understands people to be able to oversee products being built for their use.

Company Fit Skills

Finding the perfect company fit is crucial for a product manager’s success. While core competencies and emotional intelligence are essential, they don’t guarantee success in every setting. The real key lies in aligning these skills with a company whose needs match your strengths.

For instance, while having coding skills or understanding a particular coding language isn’t compulsory to become a product manager, some companies may require these skills as a must for their product manager. Google for instance is said to require all product managers to pass a technical skill exam before being hired. A company building a fintech product may require basic finance knowledge from their product manager and that may be a compulsory requirement. Hence, it’s the duty of the aspiring product manager to find companies that require their specific skills.

STEPS TO BECOMING A PRODUCT MANAGER

▪ Educational Foundation: Pursue a relevant degree or take courses in business, marketing, technology, or product design. Coursera, YouTube, Udemy, Google Digital and the likes are a good place to start from.

▪ Gain Relevant Experience: Work in roles related to product development, such as in marketing, project management, or software development. For starters, you can take unpaid internship roles so that you can quickly get roles and gain experience.

▪ Develop Essential Skills: Hone skills in strategic thinking, communication, user empathy, and technical understanding specific to your product domain.

▪ Build a Portfolio: Work on real or hypothetical projects to showcase your ability to manage a product from concept to launch.

▪ Network: Connect with current product managers, attend industry conferences, and participate in relevant online communities.

▪ Learn Continuously: Stay updated with the latest trends, tools, and methodologies in product management through books, courses, and workshops.

▪ Apply for Product Management Roles: Start with entry-level positions like Associate Product Manager and gradually work your way up.

Wrapping up, I’ve done my best to unpack the essentials of product management, from must-have skills to the critical steps on the path to becoming a product manager. Yet, there’s so much more to this dynamic field than can be captured in a single article. So, consider this a brief intermission in our journey together. Remember, even though it is cliché, anyone can become anything if they put their heart to it, and if they willingly and diligently do the work required to become what they have in mind. Becoming a product manager is within your reach; the only thing standing in your way is you. Ready to take the next step?

Folagbade Oluwatimilehin  Product Manager (Tarq Technologies)