So You Want To Manage Product Managers?
One of the most difficult periods for product managers (PMs) is the fork in their career path where they decide between managing products and managing people. For those who want to transition to the latter, the group product manager (GPM) role is usually the next step, as it blends increased product responsibility with a small number of direct reports.
For PMs that want to take the people-management route, the main challenge is that GPM opportunities are few and far between. In a quick survey, Ken Norton found that the typical ratio for engineers to PMs is about seven to one. Let’s think about what that means for new management opportunities. If we assume that GPMs have five direct reports on average, there would need to be 35 engineers and five product managers hired before a VP creates a new management role!
So how can a PM increase her chances of becoming a GPM? While I’d love to say that just working hard and shipping great products is enough to get there, it’s not. Let’s look at the factors that drive GPM role creation and placement to understand how to get both in your favor.
Spotting the conditions for management roles to open up
