Challenges facing the product management space, and what we, at The Delta, are doing to change it
While they may have once made up just one facet of the marketing team, the product-management space has changed in recent years. So much so, in fact, that it is now seen as a stand-alone role worthy of a seat at the management table. One person who knows this all too well is Alex Matthews, Chief Product and Operations Officer at The Delta. Not only is she responsible for overseeing and directing daily company processes and ensuring that company policies align with business objectives, but she also steers the ship when it comes to driving the company’s vision and overseeing the development and management of product roadmaps, based on best-practice methodologies, to meet client expectations.
Alex explains that the product team is one of the largest at The Delta. This is because they are involved in every single stage of the venture lifecycle, from ideation, through to design, development and, finally, commercialisation. One of her responsibilities is to lead the team of product managers, who she refers to as the ‘internal founders or co-founders’ of the ventures that come in via clients or the ventures started internally, and ensure that they are supported, trained and have the tools that they need to launch successful ventures. This means that a lot of her time is spent working on the internal processes within The Delta’s product management department, designing processes and structures that will enable them to execute as successfully as possible. She says that, at the end of the day, her focus is really on process, structure and people. If the team is supported in doing what they do best, and they have the processes in place to support them, that is when they are empowered to truly succeed.
The problem with product management
One of the key challenges facing the product-management space that Alex has identified is the lack of true product managers. When The Delta opened its doors — and after extensive research and internal restructuring were done — it was decided that they would have product managers instead of product owners and that they would be responsible for much more than simply product execution.
The majority of product managers she meets are really just product owners, who play more of a waiter role, than someone who truly contributes towards the product strategy. When building ventures, this isn’t enough. We need people who understand business strategy and can help formulate a rationale as to what our next steps should be. They are also expected to develop their expertise in product strategy, execution, product analytics, experimentation and project management. This requires flexibility, a drive to learn and to constantly think about which metrics we will use to inform their next steps.
Because of this skills shortage, however, The Delta is working to develop a strong upskilling and transition programme that supports the product owners we hire in their transition to product managers. While Alex does believe that throwing people in the deep end is sometimes the best way to learn, support is always at hand. She finds that people are often surprised by their own abilities, and it goes hand-in-hand with the company’s culture of continuous learning and growth. It also presents a big opportunity for those looking to transition their careers into one of the leading professions of the future.
As the former Vice President of Product at LinkedIn, Deep Nishar, says: ‘a great product manager has the brain of an engineer, the heart of a designer, and the speech of a diplomat’. And, at The Delta, we are helping to cultivate the next generation of product management to lead this space, both locally and abroad.
