How do you build a high performing product management
team?
One
can pick up a best selling leadership book and identity the key attributes that
results in high performing teams. I don’t need to outline the same in this
blog. Instead, I'll focus on what hiring managers need to work on to form a "PM team of highly motivated individuals". Have categorized this process in three parts
:
Part I - Hiring the right people
This
is no different then defining the right
product. Recall in , the difference between building the product right
vs building the right product in my earlier blog . So, first and foremost
...you need to "find the right PM " for your team. I had written a blog earlier that focusses on
key qualities
of a product managers . These qualities
are essential for the PM job. Quote from
Mary Kay Ash helps illustrate the kind of PM you need to hire. She stated that
there are four kinds of people :
Those who make things happen
Those
who watch things happen
Those
who wonder what happened
Those
who don’t know that anything happened!
Product
Managers ought to make things happen .
They need to be really really smart and also have crazy passion not just
for the technology/ product but also the company and its core values/culture. Believe me this translates into the product
definition. You will find many examples
of vendors who have PMs who believe in this mantra - Why do services from
Google look and feel and act the same way...even the acquisitions.
Louis
V. Gerstner was once asked what do you want people to do. He answered…
Hire ‘Action’ oriented employees.
– “Win, execute and team.”
- “WIN: It was vital that all the IBMers understand that business is a competitive activity. In the new IBM there would be no place for anyone who lacked zeal for the contest.”
- “EXECUTE: No more studying things to death. In the new IBM, successful people would commit to getting things done – fast and effectively.”
- “TEAM: This was a commitment to acting as one IBM, plain and simple.”
Part II - Forming the team of product managers
Once
you have the right people you need to start working on the next thing - forming
a team. I'm not going to suggest any team building exercises here. I'm assuming that you have already tested the
individual to see if he is a team player and can fit into your company culture.
So, what’s next...
Next
step is focused on making sure the individuals understand that "marketplace is the driving force
behind the company and the products". As a manager you need to establish a training
program that could be anywhere between 8-12 weeks and is focused on helping the
PM understand the :
Training
program : 8-12 weeks
Focus
|
Purpose
|
Market Analysis
Competitive
Analysis
Customer Analysis
|
Understand the
dynamics of the industry/customers/ competitors
|
Understand Product
/ Technology
|
Conduct a mini POC
on their own or join the pre sales team for a deep dive POC. PMs need to know
every single aspect of the product and also the sales cycle (technical +
business conversations)
|
Customer Visits
|
Understand end
users/ industry/ product usage
|
Economics of the
product
|
Understand the
P&L model of the product, financial performance, trends etc.
|
I
cannot emphasize how important it is for the PM to visit a few key
customers/partners who use the product but also install , configure your own
products or conduct a real POC. Prior to starting in the job , product
managers should go through a very through understanding of these areas. As a
hiring manager you need to facilitate and oversee this program with real
deliverables at the end of the program.
Part III - Managing the team
Managers
have their own preferences for managing the team. Styles vary from complete control to total
autonomy. However, for product
management roles I have a slightly skewed perspective. There is only one
product manager for every product (usually). Having a right person for this job
is crucial else you waste costly cycles, loose customers and create unnecessary
stress within the cross functional team. If you have a wrong person for this
job then you need to correct the situation asap. You cannot micro manage in this position and
if you do so then you don’t have the right person for this job.
Louis
Gerstener once said...i manage by principle , not procedure. I'd recommend to hiring managers to establish
a set of guiding principles for the team.
Key principles in my opinion are :
- Need to setup up intense and demanding goals - PM's job is not for everyone. PMs need to be challenged with demanding goals
- Measure performance based on talent, hard work and accomplishments - you have to measure success with real metrics.
- Invite Debates
- Can do attitude - Folks need to make things happen and not watch and debate things happening (Louis G)
- Accountability
- Fearless about disrupting the status quo - Should be willing to speak openly and honestly
- Drive experimentation
Once
you find the right person, establish the principles you need to step out.
Micromanaging the PM does not help at all. This is an important job where you
need to give autonomy to the individual for him/her to be successful .
