There's No "I" in Product Manager - Why Ego Gets in the Way
Lisa Mo Wagner
Product Leader | Coach | Speaker | Inclusive & Empowering Product Management
There are a few signs that ego is the an important driver in product decisions: Product managers (PMs) believe their ideas are the best and maybe even the only ones that should be pursued, team efforts aren't recognized and credit is taken by single person opposed to celebrating the team. User needs and feedback are not taken seriously if they do not support the PMs idea.
We've all done at least one of those things in our careers. It's not great, but we are all humans. You should still be proud of accomplishments and celebrate successes, but do not be a lone wolf, do it together!
Here are three short pieces of advice to help you not be that ego-driven PM, for details and some stories you can read a long version of this on Medium.
1. You need your team
Your team can deliver amazing results faster, come up with super cool solutions and give you feedback as well as teach you amazing stuff. Give them trust and open communication in return.
Trust in their experience and knowledge, leverage it through collaboration. Give them room to explore and experiment in a safe space. Failing should be an opportunity to learn.
2. You are not your user
Thinking you know everything about your user or just concluding that your needs would be general user needs, is short sighted and does not work. If you do not know your customer, you cannot deliver value to them. It's that simple!
3. You don't have to be the business expert
Especially as a freelancer, I cannot know every industry to a T and luckily, you don't need to. As product managers, we usually work with business stakeholders and just like the tech/design team, they have experience and knowledge you should leverage.
Overall, I believe in what Richard Branson said:
"Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take good care of your employees, they will take care of the clients."
Put your team first! Together put your users second and understand your business stakeholders' needs third.
Read the long version on Medium.
Let me know what you think about this in the comments, I'd love to hear some experiences and ways to deal with this kind of situation.
Portfolio Development at Rieckermann | MSc Business Development HSBA
6 年Thank you for the nice thoughts Lisa! At first, it is always a little bit disappointing when your idea is rejected by your teammates, especially when many divisions are involved. But I also found that people always have a good point criticizing you. Often it is a mix of real obstacles and a bit of resistance to change. So I found it best to emphasize on the feedback and try to elaborate together with them on issues that arise implementing a product change or a new strategic approach, while always pointing out the benefits the team, company and customers are able to get from that. Alone you can go fast, but together you go far.