What do you do if your product marketing team members have different strengths?

I always think about building a team like building a NBA roster. Depending on the system you're running, you're going to need different types of players. Yes, it is important to assess your team's current skills to put them in places to succeed. Just as importantly, make sure you define the skills you need on your team. Do you need two all star scorers? Do you need more supporting 3 and D players? Are you a run and gun offense (move fast, break things) or do you want to run a bunch of half court sets (strategic, deliberate)? Yes, this metaphor is breaking down quickly. Once you define your team's system, you can better define skillsets and align your team's individual strengths to ensure everyone wins.

As part of the assessment, make sure that you identify your and each team member's superpowers. These are the things that you love doing, that you excel at performing, and that others recognize as being your top skills. You also have to assess what are your and your team's weaknesses, but focus more of your energy in the positives (superpowers) than all the things that you might not be proficient in.

Regular skill assessments within your team are essential. These evaluations can range from casual discussions during team meetings about perceived strengths to structured analyses using tools like Clifton Strengths, which provide robust frameworks and practical insights. Recognizing the uniqueness of each team member’s skill set is crucial. The key is to synergize these diverse abilities, leveraging individual strengths to complement others’ weaknesses.

If product marketing team members have different strengths, I identify their skills and assign roles accordingly. I create diverse project teams to tackle tasks, ensuring a well-rounded approach. I provide training opportunities to build new skills and encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing. By embracing individual strengths, we achieve common goals. I lead by example, demonstrating how to leverage each other's strengths. We maximize our collective impact and deliver successful product marketing strategies by recognising and utilising each team member's unique abilities. This approach fosters a cohesive and effective team dynamic.

Unleash the A-Team: Marketing Powerhouse in 3 Plays. Your product marketing team is a goldmine of talent. But how do you tap into it? Here's the plan: 1. Map the Skills: Brainstorm and identify each member's strengths - data analysis, content creation, and social media magic. This is your "skills map." 2. Assemble the Dream Team: When a challenge arises, look at your "skills map" and pick the perfect team for the job. 3. Collaborate & Conquer: Encourage open communication and celebrate both wins and learnings. This turns your team into a marketing powerhouse.

I disagree with some aspects of this proposal. When I manage teams, I facilitate growth opportunities always but I make sure that whatever they are developing (skills, abilities, etc.) are either aligned with their short term performance goals (typically the deliverables for the FY) and/or they are aligned with their longer term career goals. Thus, whatever growth happens has to complement their superpowers and get them closer to achieving their short term and long term goals. If this is not the case, then the growth opportunities might make them temporarily feel good but it will not help them long term.

Encouraging growth among product marketing team members is essential for fostering a dynamic and adaptable team. While it's crucial to leverage existing strengths, it's equally important to encourage individuals to develop new skills. This not only facilitates personal growth but also enriches the team's collective capabilities. By creating opportunities for learning and cross-training within the team, such as exposing analytically inclined members to creative tasks, everyone gains a broader understanding of marketing. This approach not only nurtures individual talents but also cultivates a more cohesive team dynamic, where diverse strengths complement each other effectively.

I'm a big proponent of developing superpowers instead of hiding weaknesses. You want to build experts, not well-rounded generalists. People most often do best when you align what they are good at and what they like. Make sure that you take the time to understand this intersection and build growth and learning paths that align. Tap both your internal and external resources to set up your team for success! As a call out, this advice changes based on size of the company and where someone is on their career path. Make sure you're taking that into consideration a well.

This is basic people management. Help them play to their strengths while at the same time providing opportunities for growth and development. No two people are ever the same and different knowledge, style, and experience can be tuned to provide unique and robust outcomes as a team.

Cultivates a dynamic environment where individuals continually evolve and complement each other's strengths. By fostering a culture of continuous learning and development, you empower your team to adapt to new challenges and excel collectively, ensuring long-term success and resilience.

Fostering synergy within your product marketing team is crucial for maximizing collective potential. By nurturing an environment where diverse strengths complement each other, you pave the way for innovation and efficiency. Encourage collaboration among team members, leveraging their unique skills to enhance project outcomes. Through regular meetings and brainstorming sessions, facilitate open dialogue and knowledge sharing, enabling individuals to learn from one another and collectively elevate the team's performance. Embrace the richness of diversity within your team, harnessing it as a driving force for success.

The key to success is having everyone work together, combining their talents to create something even more awesome than they could on their own. This teamwork not only makes your work better, but it also helps you guys become a closer, more supportive team. Think of it like having regular meetings and brainstorming sessions where everyone throws out their ideas. By sharing your perspectives, you can all learn from each other and come up with even better solutions.

Embracing each member's unique skills is key. By working together, we not only enhance our outcomes but also create a tighter, more dynamic team. Diversity of thought provides new ideas. Collaborating on projects creates shared objectives that bring the team together and enable personal growth.

Once you've built your all star team of specialists, it makes it easier to build projects and determine who owns what. That said, for each project, make sure you're also assessing whether you need someone with an expertise or someone who is just good enough. You don't want one person to become a bottleneck across all of your projects because they are the only "expert".

Blend of Creative, Analytical, and Promotional Skills: A healthy marketing team should have a blend of creative, analytical, and promotional skills, allowing members to complement each other's strengths. Flexibility in Tactics: Team members should be able to flex and adjust tactics while staying true to the overall strategy, leveraging their individual strengths to adapt to changing needs. Co-location and Shared Space: Co-location, whether physical or virtual, can enhance communication, project oversight, and teamwork between product and marketing teams. This shared space allows team members to tap into each other's expertise and exchange feedback more effectively.

Setting clear goals is paramount when managing a product marketing team with diverse strengths. These objectives serve as guiding lights, directing each member's contributions towards a unified vision. By establishing precise, measurable targets, team leaders empower individuals to leverage their unique skills effectively. It's crucial that these goals strike a balance, challenging team members while remaining attainable. This clarity not only harnesses the strengths of each individual but also fosters collaboration towards shared accomplishments. With clear objectives in place, the team can align their efforts, driving towards collective success in product marketing endeavors.

When setting OKRs, SMART goals, or whichever framework your company uses, make sure you're focusing on personal goals too. Development requires time, focus, and resources. If you're not building in personal goals alongside professional ones, you're not setting up your team for long-term success at and beyond your company. Spend the right amount of time supporting your team and finding resources to help them level up.

The secret weapon of a great team leader? Super clear goals. Especially when your team members all bring different talents to the table. Here's why: When you set goals that are specific and measurable, it's like giving everyone a roadmap. They know exactly what success looks like and where to put their effort. Plus, these goals should be tough but doable, kind of like a good workout. And here's the magic part: By matching these clear goals with each person's strengths, they can use their superpowers to make the biggest difference. Everyone feels like they're in the right place, doing the right thing, all working together to win as a team.

Personalize goals! 1) Identify strengths: Content wizard? Data whiz? Strategic mastermind? Understand your team's superpowers. 2) Craft tailored goals: Match strengths to tasks. Data gurus analyze KPIs, creative minds craft messaging, strategists map the launch. 3) Collaboration is key: Foster teamwork! John's data informs Sarah's content and David's plan benefits from Sarah's messaging. Bonus: Help your team grow! Maybe Sarah takes a data visualization course, or John learns copywriting basics. By personalizing goals and fostering collaboration, you'll unleash your team's strengths and propel your product to success.

Different views are results of differential competencies and expertise. As organization priority, One should optimise the communication.

Great teamwork is all about talking things through. Make sure everyone feels comfortable sharing their ideas, asking questions, and getting help. This way, everyone knows what's going on and can use their best skills to achieve the goal. Regular meetings, chats, or whatever works for your team are key to keeping the information flowing freely. Basically, everyone should feel heard.

Effective communication is paramount in a diverse team—It's the one skill that can make or break a team. Without it, efforts may be duplicated, and goals misaligned. It empowers every team member to have a voice. Dedicating weekly time for team members to share updates, thoughts, and challenges establishes a consistent rhythm for open dialogue.

Since 2003, I've been a professional improviser and have taught classes across the U.S on how to communicate better while also running my own business. Good communication is one the greatest ways to grow your business. Bad communication is one of the greatest ways to destroy it.

I'm a firm believer in celebrating the success of others, big or small. Acknowledging achievements publicly boosts morale and caters to various motivational needs—be it recognition, rewards, or the satisfaction of a job well done. It’s crucial to choose the appropriate channel, such as town halls, award nominations, or personal messages, to convey this appreciation effectively.

With a team in synergy with the same purpose, success is inevitable. As a leader, knowing how to recognize your team's merit is of great value. Whenever I can, I provide individual feedback to the team and we always celebrate all achievements together. A team is not made up of just one person, but of several. We need people to grow. Without them we are not a team, we are just one.

Do not over complicate. Collaboration and continual learning are key. Provide courses for self improvement and encourage team meetings for sharing. The learnings from others on your team are most likely to be focused on your company’s products or service model.

A PMM org is diverse enough to have team members w/ a wide variety of skills/experience but strengths in few. This can be a boon, not a bane! As a PMM leader, hire people w/ expertise in different areas that can rub off positively w/ others in the team. Cross-pollinate team members by rotating them through (a) building GTM strategy, value propositions, positioning, & messaging (b) working closely w/ product management to influence roadmaps, product requirements, & pricing (c) embedding within customer success/account management teams to drive existing customer retention/growth (d) working closely w/ demand-gen, content, & partner mktg teams (e) driving sales enablement (f) gathering competitive intelligence & supporting analyst relations.

1) Strengths as Puzzle Pieces: Match teammates' strengths - data analyst with a creative mind, a storyteller with strategist - to craft powerful marketing campaigns. 2) Brainstorming Bonanza: Embrace diverse thinking! Collaborative brainstorming ignites innovation - analysts refine wild ideas, and creatives spark breakthroughs. 3) Strengths Spotlight: Specialize! Delegate tasks based on expertise. Social media whiz owns the content, and competitor research ace stays ahead. This leverages strengths and fosters team ownership.