The Product Manager communication manifesto
It’s all about the team. I dream about the ultimate cross functional team where the focus is on the product, where every team member can express their ideas, where everyone is clear on their role and responsibility. As a product manager and product designer, great teams happen all too infrequently. Great teams evolve and grow, great companies grow and nurture teams. They know highly productive cross functional teams with deep skills are key to success. Apple excels in creating outstanding teams as to do a few other companies. A study by Google found great teams have five characteristics: Psychological Safety, Dependability, Structure and Clarity, Meaning, and Impact.
Based on my experience as a product manager I have found that feeling “safe” and “open” in communication is key to team success. I have developed my Communication Manifesto for product managers.
Ensure every voice is on the team is heard
Its important for the interdisciplinary teams to meet once a week as a group to review project progress. Its been my experience that often some strong personalities start to eclipse other views. The problem isn’t the strength or passion. Its only a problem if these people start to “shout down” others people ideas and comments.
Its critical that product managers are able to step in and rebalance the group. This “soft skill” is where product mangers show their worth. They need to create a high energy, highly cooperative, highly productive team. Open lines of communication for all team members are critical to this function. The “magic” happens when you create a “safe” space where the team openly critiques and improves each other ideas in a real and genuine way. This is much harder than you would think. Many teams are “poisoned” by an overly competitive member who “has to be right”, who needs to be the “smartest guy in the room” or who has their own agenda subverting team goals.
Engage with all team members
Product mangers should communicate with all team members. Its important for team members to feel comfortable and empowered with talking to the product manager. Great product mangers are usually curious and well read and familiar with a wide range of fields and studies. This helps in communication with engineering, quality assurance, design, marketing, sales and documentation.
Empower people to voice opinions
Product managers has a critical role in engaging the team and soliciting opinions from every team member. Great teams are teams where people can voice their opinions and ideas without fear. If team members are harshly criticized then they are less likely to voice opinions to the group.
Mediate Strong personalities and opinions
Great product managers sometimes are called on to be referees for the team. It’s common to have one or two team members start to dominate the group discussions and prevent others from voicing their opinions and ideas. Allowing time and activity soliciting team member opinions is important to maximize group flow.
Be Proactive — Keep the team on track and focussed without being draconian
Product managers also have to lead without being dictators or suppressing ideas and team energy. The old saying is that product managers are tasked with “herding cats” in the product development process. They need to guide the team’s productive energy to “flow” to move the product forward.
Great products and services come from great teams, and the best teams have safe open creative communication.
