Why SMEs often fail as Product Managers and how to bridge the gap.

If you have worked long enough in Product Management, you will likely have seen many Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) transitioning into Product Management and Leadership roles. Often this is encouraged by organisations as part of growth and development and nurturing local talent.

So far, so good, love that path for them! Taking a side step in your career or changing subject matter can fuel personal growth and broaden expertise, making you more versatile and valuable in an ever-evolving job market. Another huge benefit is that it pushes you out of your comfort zone, shows adaptability, and opens doors to opportunities you might have been unlikely to get if you stayed the course.

Still sounds good, right? You guessed, there is a ‘however’ coming.

However, while SMEs bring expertise and their deep technical knowledge is often invaluable, the transition to product management and product leadership comes with significant challenges that they often struggle to overcome. Many SMEs find it hard to adapt to the strategic, user-centred nature of Product Management, leading to common pitfalls.

I have worked in Product for more years than I am usually willing to admit, and have seen a variety of SMEs moving into Product: engineering to PM, Design/UX to PM, BA to PM, Delivery to PM, you name it, I have likely seen it.

I don’t always encourage the transition as I have witnessed brilliant minds crash and burn once taking on a Product Manager (PM) role. While I am always excited that someone thinks Product Management is so cool that they want to join the Tribe, the first thing I do is to have an honest and open conversation about the ‘why’ and ‘what to expect’ from the role of Product Manager. So, I often then find that SMEs want to move to Product because they are either bored or stuck in their role and have nowhere to grow within the organisation or have fallen victim to some of the most common misconceptions about being a Product Manager. But I’ve also witnessed excellent transitions. With the right mindset, many SMEs have successfully shifted into impactful Product Managers, leveraging their expertise in new, rewarding ways.

What SMEs Often Get Wrong About the Product Manager Role

1. The PM Makes All the Decisions: Many SMEs believe that Product Managers have sole decision-making authority. In reality, PMs are decision wranglers! They facilitate decision-making by gathering feedback from cross-functional teams, think engineering, data, commercial, customer service, the business - you name it, and somehow turn that into a cohesive product strategy. To paraphrase some of Ken Norton’s famous article ‘How to Hire a Product Manager’, a Product Manager’s job is to help their team and company ship the right product, not to be right. So, NO, PMs don’t make all the decisions, put your ego away and step into the role if you are ready to support collaboration across various stakeholders, not assert authority or always be right.
2. PMs Are the Technical Experts: SMEs and actually a lot of businesses often think PMs need to have deep technical expertise. While it helps if they know the difference between APIs and MVPs, their main strength is translating technical jargon into business value and customer benefits. They rely on SMEs for deep technical expertise, but their focus is on delivering the right product to market.
3. The PM is the CEO of the Product: Can we please stop this right now? I’d love it if we never say that ever again about PMs. This popular but misleading notion implies that PMs have full autonomy. While PMs are responsible for a product’s success, they certainly don’t have the same authority as a CEO. In truth, PMs require strong influencing skills and stakeholder management skills, rather than authority.
4. PMs Manage the Team: SMEs sometimes assume that PMs directly manage the development team. However, the PM role is more about leading without authority, coordinating efforts, and guiding the team toward shared goals, rather than managing their day-to-day tasks.
5. PMs Control the Timeline: Another big misconception is that PMs set deadlines and dictate the pace of development, acting as project or delivery managers. Let’s put this to bed now. While PMs are responsible for setting high-level goals and prioritising features, they don’t own the project’s delivery timeline. Instead, they rely on engineering, design, and other teams to provide realistic delivery estimates. PMs coordinate between stakeholders and ensure alignment on product strategy, but they’re not responsible for micromanaging the development process or dictating exact timelines—that’s what Project Managers and Delivery Managers are there for!

Phew, I got this off my chest now I can move to the biggest challenges you might need to overcome if you are thinking of moving to Product Management.

1. The Mindset Shift: From Technical Depth to Strategic Thinker

In my opinion, the most significant and most common challenge SMEs face is the need to broaden their perspective. They must shift their mindset from focusing solely on technical details to adopting a more strategic, big-picture view. Product leadership demands a holistic view of the market, user needs, and business strategy and SMEs must learn to value and balance breadth of knowledge as much as depth. I have seen many end up confused and overwhelmed, stuck in the details.

Remember: Your technical knowledge is a tool, not the end goal. The product's success in the market is what truly matters.

Tip:

• Start thinking like a Product Leader by setting aside time each week to evaluate market trends, customer feedback, and competitor strategies.
• Spend time understanding your organisational goals and strategy and how you can contribute to the success of the Product Portfolio in the organisation.
• Prioritise learning about other areas, like customer experience or market positioning. This can help you become more well-rounded and strategic.

2. Overcoming the 'Expert Syndrome'

Many SMEs tend to over-focus on technical details and solutions at the expense of market challenges and user needs. This can lead to feature bloat and products that, while might be technically impressive, fail to resonate with users.

"The hallmark of originality is rejecting the default and exploring whether a better option exists." — Adam Grant, Think Again

Tip

• Developing a strong user empathy muscle. Spend time understanding your customers' pain points and desires. Let their needs guide your technical decisions, not the other way around.

3. Adapting to Cross-Functional Team Dynamics

Product Managers collaborate with other teams from marketing, sales, design, and engineering to other areas of the business. PMs will also typically sit within a cross-functional Product Team/Squad/Pod themselves, requiring constant communication and cooperation. For SMEs, who are used to working in their specialised technical silos, this transition can be challenging. Cross-functional collaboration demands the ability to navigate different working styles.

Tip:

• Improve collaboration by proactively engaging with different teams, learning their goals and priorities, and adapting your communication to their language and perspective. Regular cross-team syncs and workshops can help bridge these gaps.

4. The Art of Saying 'No'

Ask any Product Manager what differentiates a good PM from a great one and they will likely list ‘Say No’ amongst the top 3. One of the biggest and hardest obstacles for SMEs to overcome is the art of prioritisation. Oh yes, I just triggered all PMs reading this article. SMEs are so used to solving every technical challenge that, often struggle with saying 'no' to feature requests or ideas, especially their own. They want it all and they want it now and that’s exactly what Product Managers fight day in - and day out. Learning to prioritise ruthlessly is crucial. Every 'yes' to a feature is a 'no' to something else. Product Managers make decisions based on user impact and business goals, not technical interest or ego.

Tip:

• Start getting comfortable with prioritisation frameworks like MoSCoW (Must have, Should have, Could have, Won't have) or the RICE Scoring Model (Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort) to assess each feature request against its potential business value and user impact. You must ensure that the decisions you make are objective, not driven by technical curiosity or personal interest.

“The trick to backlog prioritization isn’t in doing more, it’s in doing the right things at the right time. Say no to the things that aren’t aligned with your product’s vision.” — Marty Cagan, Inspired: How to Create Products Customers Love

5. Adapting to Modern Product Development

This happens more often than you think! When SMEs move into Product Management without understanding Agile methodologies or Product Frameworks, they often struggle to keep up with the fast-paced, iterative nature of modern product development. They also struggle with the lack of shared language and processes. Unlike the linear processes SMEs are used to, Agile focuses on flexibility, customer-centric planning, and rapid feedback loops. Adapting to these cross-functional Ways of Working (WoW) is critical for success.

Tips:

• Learn the basics of Scrum and Kanban to collaborate more effectively.
• Learn the Product Language: The set of common terms and frameworks used across product teams to facilitate smooth communication and collaboration. This could include User Stories, MVP (Minimum Viable Product), Backlog, KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), Sprint to name but a few.
• Adopt a growth mindset: Be open to continuous learning and iteration, as Agile requires adaptability over rigid planning.

6. Bridging the Communication Gap

One of the biggest challenges for SMEs transitioning to Product Management is learning to communicate effectively with non-technical stakeholders. The ability to translate complex technical concepts into business value and user benefits is crucial, or as I like to say, 'speaking the language of the moment.'

Tips:

• Simplify: Explain your ideas without jargon. If your mum gets it, you're golden.
• Know your audience: Tailor your message using stakeholder maps, focusing on the 'why.'
• Get visual: Use infographics or diagrams to make complex ideas easy to digest for non-technical stakeholders.

7. Embracing a Growth Mindset

Product Management requires embracing change, new methodologies, and sometimes pivoting fast. SMEs may resist these changes, preferring what’s familiar and safe. SMEs must embrace a growth mindset and seek out opportunities to develop new skills. And, almost forgot, getting comfortable with failure.

Tips:

• Develop leadership skills through mentorship, coaching and management training.
• Apply and practice design thinking to stay user-focused.
• Stay up-to-date with the latest product methodologies and tools.
• Build resilience, mistakes are part of the process. You won’t always be right, it won’t always go well but you’ll always learn.

The Organisational Perspective

For companies to benefit from SME transitions, they must support their growth and that’s true in any side step an SME might choose to take. This means providing training, mentorship, and resources to help SMEs develop the necessary skills to succeed.

For those transitioning into Product Management and Product Leadership, doing so in an organisational culture that values both technical expertise and product management skills is essential.

Tip for Organisations:

• Offer cross-functional project opportunities to SMEs, where they can gain exposure to the business side, user research, and leadership experience.
• Provide mentorship programs pairing SMEs with experienced product leaders
• Create cross-functional teams to expose SMEs to different aspects of the business
• Recognise and reward both technical and product management achievements

The journey from SME to product leader is challenging and I am usually the first one to say ‘Are you sure?’. It can be very rewarding if done well. Those SMEs who can successfully bridge the gap between technical expertise and product leadership will be uniquely positioned to drive innovation and create products that truly change the world.

Just watch out for the SMEs who don’t want the title but want to call the shots that are not theirs to call!

When an SME steps into a Product Manager role without fully embracing the responsibilities, or worse, tries to influence Product decisions, it can cause significant disruption. SMEs who are accustomed to deep technical focus may not have the broader vision required for product strategy, leading them to want to prioritise technical details over business outcomes. This can result in misaligned priorities, feature bloat, and a lack of focus on user needs.

Most worryingly, the Product Manager’s role becomes reactive, spending time addressing technical demands rather than driving the product forward in alignment with market needs and business objectives. Cross-functional teams can become confused, with blurred lines of authority and ownership. This creates friction, delays, and inefficiencies in the Product Development Life Cycle (PDLC), damaging overall product success.

The most effective product teams are those where each role is clearly defined and respected, ensuring the PM leads the product vision and strategy, while SMEs contribute their technical expertise where it’s most impactful.

It can be done! Here is how to Bridge the Gap

1. Embrace a Growth Mindset

SMEs need to adopt a learning mindset to be successful as Product Managers. Being open to feedback, new methodologies, and continuous improvement is essential.

"Success is not about being right; it’s about learning." — Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle Is the Way

2. Develop Soft Skills

Technical expertise alone is not enough for effective Product Management. Developing soft skills like communication, leadership, and emotional intelligence is crucial for collaborating across teams, influencing without authority, and navigating challenges. Strong communication helps you align stakeholders, while emotional intelligence allows you to understand team dynamics and manage conflicts gracefully. Leadership is about inspiring and guiding teams toward shared goals.

Tips:

• Practice active listening: Engage fully in conversations to understand others’ perspectives before responding. Be the last person to speak.
• Seek feedback regularly: Use it to grow your communication and leadership capabilities and enhance your stakeholder management toolbox.

3. Seek Mentorship and Continuous Learning

Transitioning from SME to Product Management is a journey that benefits greatly from mentorship and ongoing learning. A mentor can help you navigate challenges, provide valuable industry insights, and help you avoid common pitfalls. Additionally, continuous learning through courses, books, and networking will help you stay current with evolving product management practices.

Tips:

• Find a mentor: Look for a Product Leader who has navigated similar challenges to guide your transition.
• Invest in learning: Attend industry conferences or enrol in online courses to build your knowledge base.

4. Practice User-Centered Design Thinking

To thrive as a Product Manager, shifting your mindset from technical solutions to the user's needs is critical. Design Thinking fosters empathy, creativity, and iteration, enabling you to design products that genuinely resonate with users. By focusing on solving real problems through a user-centred approach, you can drive higher engagement and product success.

Tips:

• Empathise with users: Conduct user interviews or surveys to deeply understand their pain points and desires.
• Prototype and iterate: Quickly build and test prototypes to gather feedback and refine your solutions continuously.

If it's worth doing, it’s worth doing well!

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