How can you learn new skills from product manager communities?

I am a part of multiple slack and whatsapp communities and here are some of the core benefits I derive from them: 1. Seeking advice - Help in getting resources, advice from people who have worked on similar problem statements, products or industries, mentorship from senior folks 2. Building networks - Helps in having connections beyond work 3. Ranting - Often the nature of many communities is informal, so people discuss issues at work. Sometimes helps in gaining outside perspective and sometimes a pacifier that you are not the only one feeling stuck?? 4. General awareness - Around what are the trending things happening in the space

One of the significant benefits of product manager communities is the opportunity to engage with other professionals in the field. By connecting with product managers from diverse backgrounds and experiences, you can ask questions, seek feedback, and receive advice. This exchange of knowledge and insights can broaden your perspective, spark innovative ideas, and help you overcome challenges more effectively.

Product Manager communities are becoming an increasingly important resource to learn about the function, trends, and skills. They also are a great resource to seek advice on situations one has to deal with. Such communities are becoming an important way for members to break into product management, get access to a network that supports with job search, learn about new job opportunities and receive support in the process. These communities are also a great way to give back to. Senior product professionals often advise and coach others in the community.

Humans in general thrive better in communities. Product managers are no different. Though it is not mandatory for product managers to be part of communities, yet, being active in communities and being part of them is highly beneficial for information and ideas sharing, best practices, getting feedback and more so in situations where one is looking for a completely neutral POV. Mentoring and being mentored is the best way to thrive and learn and this is one of the benefits of product management communities

PM community specially the one organised in person are very effective. You just don't get to learn & share experience in the community but also get chance to network with them which pays compounding dividend throughout your life. As it is said Your Network = Your Net Worth. Below are some of the PM communities one can consider: 1. Product School Community 2. Product Hive Community 3. Product InsideIIM Community

While there are so many Product Management communities you would find online (on LinkedIn, WhatsApp), it’s important to choose the right one / ones. How can you do that? The communities would arrange events. Try to attend an event (online or offline). Look around for the kind of people who’ve gathered, are they open for conversations, see if you can learn something valuable from them. Then, you could choose to join that community or check out another one. Our time and energy is limited, so don’t have pressurise yourself to be part of many communities. A lot of learning can happen being part of 1-2 communities with right people :)

There is a trend where product thought leaders are creating communities where they actively engage with members. Some great product communities are built on slack for subscribers of their newsletter or students of their courses. Some communities like that are Shreyas Doshi's product club, Lenny's slack community for his newsletter subscribers and Aakash Gupta's new slack community for his newsletter subscribers.

While engaging with external product communities is invaluable, engaging internal product communities or taking initiative to start internal product communities also can also be a fruitful exercise. Particularly for a new PM or experienced PM joining a new organization, it offers an opportunity to learn how the cookie is baked and delivered in the cookie factory and contribute to long term development and success of a PM

Really depends on what one is looking for. There are various communities out there, each good or better in its unique value. If you are following someone, highly likely, the leader is a member of one of the communities or they have created one of their own. In the current world of easy access to information, almost everyone has a newsletter, has been featured in some article or the other. If you know what you are looking for from a community, you can find them either in SubStack, Slack, LinkedIn or one of the community newsletters.

Don't be afraid to ask the simple questions. The vast experiences of the community members may help you think through things in a completely different lens. Additionally, you can be upfront with your asks and offer ways to help the community. Is there a more junior PM you can help mentor? Is there an event you can organize or attend? Is there a best practice you can share? It's a sure way to find others to connect with. ??

I would approach this as a goal-driven or outcome driven exercise- what am I looking for from the community, what do I want to achieve. Once the goal is clear, laying out an approach and following that path to learning is the key. Communities are a huge group of mentors, peers and leaders who have a lot to offer. Tapping into this huge network and learning from them to maximize the "network effect" is the key.

When I started a consulting business, initially, it was to supplement my income. Then it became a creative outlet. A way to learn a new skill as a product manager, aside from standard training, is to try new things and practice them outside of your role and responsibilities. Then you can apply what you've learned on your own to enhance your work product. In Medtech, it can be challenging to be creative given the regulations. But I figured out how to incorporate AI, digital marketing and productivity tools, etc. into my work product. Learn, do, apply.

I really measure the value of communities as a KPI driven exercise- what am I in it for, what am I really getting out of it, what is the purpose of joining the community. Putting forth a simple comparison of "before" and "after" in terms of the learning and improvement, feedback from the community members is a great way of learning. Also, getting a continuous feedback loop of peers outside of the community who can actually see the improvement of a product manager after joining communities is another possible measure. A very subtle yet strong indicator is the acceleration in the thought leadership and one has to be really self-aware for this.

There will be more and more product communities that will be created. It is important for you to identify the right ones for you based on your experience, your goals, and what the community can offer to you. Getting into too many communities can also become noise.

There is massive value in community itself. Through building meaningful connection with fellow product professionals, development and mentorship will naturally flow. It’s sort of like the networking equivalent of “soft skills” - over time, helping one another grow becomes an exponential, virtuous cycle.

It's a reason that 'community' is rightly called so because there's lot of giving and exchanging ideas. While it's important to pick the right product community to be a part of, something that resonates with your values, the best form of learning comes from observing people's perspectives and the way they think. If you happen to enjoy someone's product take, or find a few folks in your similar lane, extending a message and initiating 1:1s with them is the best way to kickstart a long-term form of learning. Communities and learnings should never be transactional.