The three skills I developed during my first six months as a product manager
Switching careers is inherently risky, so when I started thinking about a career change last summer, I decided to take it slow and identify the role that I really wanted. After going to school for mechanical engineering, I’d spent five years as a project manager in the heavy machine industry. My employer designed and built cement plants, and I was responsible for selling projects that routinely took three to five years to complete.
Although that job was a good fit for a while, I became more and more interested in tech, so I started to learn about software. This took many forms, including reading online (my browser tabs were filled with Stratechery and Medium articles) and listening to podcasts (A16Z, Exponent, How I Built This). Learning to code was what really sealed it for me. Fully intending to pursue a career as a developer, I took a class on front end web development at General Assembly. Most nights after work, I’d be typing away, repeatedly saving and refreshing my files to see whether the code I’d written worked or not. I found the problem-solving aspect of software exciting.
Along the way, I discovered a path that allowed me to merge the skills I’d developed as a project manager with my interest in software: product management. Product managers work at the intersection of business, customers, and technology. Balancing these disciplines would require me to understand many areas of the company and provide ample opportunities to continue growing and learning. At this point, I got a lucky break: an introduction to a senior product manager at CallRail. Jason spoke passionately about the work CallRail was doing, the challenges of growing a business from a scrappy start-up to an established company, and the culture of working hard but having fun. He encouraged me to apply and, after several rounds of interviews, I was offered an associate product manager position.
While I didn’t start my career hoping to become a product manager, my previous experiences gave me time to build a set of skills that allowed me to bring something unique to my work. As I’ve settled into the role, I’ve had plenty of chances to continue learning and building new skills. Based on my experience, the three most essential skills for a product manager are managing the development cycle, communicating effectively, and negotiating.
Managing the development cycle
When I started researching a career in product management, I’d read about the concept of continuous development. While the production cycle in my previous role moved relatively slowly, in comparison, software companies ship updates quickly and constantly.
However, while the product cycle is always in motion, what I’ve learned over the last few months is that all of that code has to be considered from a product perspective, written out, groomed, prioritized and reviewed, and that product managers have an integral part in all of those steps. I’ve had to learn how to balance planning for future work with the need for space in the present to accommodate unexpected hiccups and delays. While my timing has gotten better, I’m always working to stay one step ahead of the very talented engineers who work through all my carefully written user stories at lightning speed and look to me for their next task or project.
I’m fortunate to have a great support system. The developers have been patient and willing to work on small tasks while I think through what should be done next. Every product manager has had to get used to the pace of work at some point in their careers, so many of my peers have offered practical, helpful advice from their own experience. The pace of the development cycle keeps everyone on their toes.
Communicating effectively
During my onboarding at CallRail, I asked a lot of questions that began with, “How do you know to do this?” or “When should I do that?”. The answer? “You just know.” This was not the answer I wanted; the engineer in me wanted a set of hard and fast rules to follow, not just a sense or intuition. I started calling this the “product management muscle” because it’s something that’s strengthened through repetition.
Nothing taught me more about being a good product manager than writing user stories. A user story communicates all the requirements, notes, and limits of an idea that you want built. A good user story defines a scope that provides value once it is shipped by considering design constraints, technical limits, and priority. Product managers have a close relationship with the UX/UI team but there is a dividing line of responsibility; nobody wants product managers creating copy or design. But how much should product dictate to the engineering teams? Everyone needs creative freedom, and developers aren’t any different. Being too restrictive in the requirements ties developers’ hands and can produce a subpar result, but getting the details wrong can slow down the process.
I’ve learned that being a good product manager boils down to communication and delegation. I’ll never be a one-stop shop for content, design, and technical decisions, and that’s why I have a team to back me up. Communicating clear requirements and expectations to each member of the team is essential to creating a consistent and friction-free experience for our customers. Armed with a clear idea of the problem and some mock-ups, I’m ready to direct the developers, incorporate their feedback, and get to work.
Negotiating and synthesizing
When you’re building something new, there isn’t always a clear path to follow. That’s what makes working as a product manager exciting, but it’s also what makes it challenging. Sometimes, the hardest part of forging a new path is deciding which way to go. Everyone has their own idea of how to build that feature or improve that experience for the customer, and a big part of my job is reconciling those viewpoints.
I’m learning that a lot of success in product management is in negotiating with those who want to achieve the same thing as you but want to get there a different way and that everyone’s idea has merit because it’s based on their unique knowledge and experience. My job is to synthesize all these viewpoints, while also accounting for unforeseen challenges and the technical limits of what is possible. Only then can we move forward with a project.
In my previous role, I relied heavily on several engineering disciplines to tell me what was possible and where the risks lay in a plan. I weighed these inputs against our prospective customer’s requirements to form a plan. At CallRail, I still rely on developers, but the negotiation is less about risk and more about tradeoffs. The phrase “anything is possible, but…” gets thrown around in meetings; understanding the costs of any decision is important. If the developer tells me that a feature can be built but that the page will load more slowly or the work will take an extra day, I negotiate those costs and try to land somewhere on the path of delivering incredible products.
Although all of these skills are important, there’s one thing that’s more important than anything else; becoming a product manager requires a willingness to seek out new challenges, so if you’ve thought about moving into product management, you’re already on the right path! The role of a product manager isn’t defined industry wide, so all companies treat the position differently. If you’re considering product management as a career, use this to your advantage. Examine your skills and passions, and look for companies and responsibilities that match, but also expect to continue learning on the job. Read lots of job postings, notice the differences, and identify your ideal role based on your skillset. Do you have a background in software that means you can be more involved in the execution of your vision? Or would you rather focus on strategy and let the engineering team figure out the details?
If you understand your experiences and skills, you’ll demonstrate a deeper insight into yourself and the company you’re interviewing with. In my case, I had worked for a large company and knew how to rally multiple teams to get things done. This experience appealed to CallRail as considering the future of the organization during a period of growth.
Ultimately, success in product management relies on a commitment to teamwork and growth. If you can bring people together to work toward a compelling vision, you’ll be successful. In the end, everyone is involved in building great products, and product managers have a key role in creating an environment where the development process can happen.
Grant Sadowski is an associate product manager at CallRail. Outside of work, he enjoys training for and running half marathons — mostly so he can eat all the great food in Atlanta!
