Women in Product DC: Managing Without Authority — Tips, Tricks, Pain Points, Solutions
HUGE thanks to Sparkfund for hosting our August event — our first one actually within the boundary lines of Washington DC proper! Sparkfund has a lovely space in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of DC, and their product offerings are super interesting as they set out to transform how businesses implement energy technology. Check out their open positions!
One goal of this event was networking and snacks of course, but primarily we got together to talk about techniques around inspiring others to share your vision and operate like a well-oiled machine when in fact you have no power to make anyone do anything. That’s the managing without authority part of being a product manager.
We were heartened [Julie’s note: I actually got a little tear] by the fact that everyone in the room shouted NO! when we asked “the product manager is the CEO of a product, yes or no?” — referring to the 20 year old article by Ben Horowitz, “Good Product Manager/Bad Product Manager” — showing that we are all well past that and believe more that a product manager is not like being the CEO of a product, because if that were the case we wouldn’t be struggling at managing without authority!
We talked about things like:
- mitigating conflicts early (and often)
- having cross-functional meetings
- using language that matters, such as “we’re building” and “we’re creating”
- using data to guide the conversation (“be the data whisperer”)
- over-communicate…everything
- building consensus at kickoff to create an enthusiastic foundation
- lean out in front of your skis and learn/fail/pivot early
- share everything (user research, ideas, thoughts, industry trends, etc) and make sure your demos are open to everyone
- appreciate that ideas come from everyone, and you’re the conductor of that chaos; give everyone the space to speak and be sure you listen
- hold “office hours” where anyone can drop in and talk about your product, strategy, vision, etc.
- value the microengagements with people, as they often lead to greater comfort and trust
- make the team’s problems your own problems
- if someone on the product team feels like they’re winning and someone feels like they’re losing, you’re not leading
We continue to be thrilled with the community that is coming together, and that new people came out to network with other product managers, product designers, and all the different types of folks responsible for product development.
Our September event is another workshop meant to tackle of the issues that people have raised — how to craft your own (or your product’s) elevator pitch. This event will be Tuesday, September 18th, 2018 at 6:30pm at Blackstone Technology Group, 1110 N Glebe Rd #200 in Arlington, VA. Register now! We are also finalizing the logistics around our October event, which will be held in DC again and will be hosted by the fine product folks at NPR!
In the mean time, stay in touch via the main Women in Product Facebook group and the Women in Product DC Facebook group.
Keep on shipping!
- Stephanie & Julie
