From Good to Great: How Product Managers Can Develop Their Talent Stack for Exceptional Results

Product Managers (PMs) often face an intimidating challenge: how to get the best results from their team and create exceptional products for their customers. Fortunately, PMs can acquire the necessary skills and abilities to succeed in their role by developing their “talent stack”.

It’s a term coined by venture capitalist, Scott Medintz, which refers to a collection of complementary skills, capabilities and qualities acquired to form something greater than the sum of the parts – like stacking blocks higher to build a tower. In this article, we’ll be exploring how PMs can build a talent stack that will help them excel at their job.

The Basics: Communication and Technical Skill

The foundation of every successful PM’s talent stack is effective communication and technical skill.

Communication

• • Negotiation: The ability to clearly and concisely explain your needs to stakeholders and tie them back to the positive outcomes for the project.

• • Clear Writing: The ability to write reports, emails, user stories and other documents that can be understood easily by stakeholders.

• • Public Speaking: The ability to present yourself and the project in the most compelling way.

Technical Skill

• • Software Development: An understanding of software development processes, preferably with an understanding of specific programming languages and tools.

• • Product Design: An understanding of how to design and build a product that is intuitive, useful and attractive for the customer.

• • Data Analysis: The ability to analyze data to draw meaningful insights and inform product and business decisions.

Without these basic skills, it won’t be possible to take your talent stack any further. That said, these skills alone won’t be enough to make you an exceptional PM – and to do that, you need to go further.

Next Level: Leadership and Problem-Solving

Any PM worth their salt absolutely must have excellent leadership and problem-solving skills.

Leadership:

• • Confidence and Authority: The ability to command respect from the team through self-confidence, understanding and a firm yet fair approach.

• • Vision and Strategy: The ability to plan and execute strategies that leads the team towards a common goal.

• • Empowerment and Motivation: The ability to create an inspiring and motivating atmosphere that encourages people to reach their fullest potential.

Problem-solving:

• • Creativity: The ability to think outside the box and come up with innovative solutions to the problems that arise.

• • Critical Thinking: The ability to logically evaluate the facts and make sound decisions.

• • Adaptability and Agility: The ability to quickly adapt to changing circumstances and decisions.

PMs with a strong leadership and problem-solving talent stack will be able to build an effective and motivated product team that makes sure the project succeeds.

Beyond the Basics: User-Centricity and Emotional Intelligence

It’s at this point where you take your talent stack to the next level.

User-Centricity:

• • Research: The ability to conduct user research that helps inform product direction.

• • Innovation: The ability to identify user needs and develop innovative solutions to meet them.

• • Empathy: The ability to put yourself in the user’s shoes and understand their motivations and preferences.

Emotional Intelligence:

• • Self-Awareness: The ability to understand and accept your own emotions, as well as how they can affect your decision-making.

• • Engagement: The ability to effectively manage and control your emotions in order to engage positively with others.

• • Influence: The ability to use your emotions to inspire and motivate your team and other stakeholders.

By mastering user-centricity and emotional intelligence, PMs will be able to pinpoint user needs and create innovative products that drive engagement and adoption.

Conclusion: Putting it All Together

Developing a strong talent stack is essential for any PM who wants to become great at their job. It takes effort and dedication, but the results will be worth it. With the right skills, qualities and capabilities, you’ll be able to build high-performing teams and create exceptional products that customers love.

To recap, building an effective product management talent stack involves mastering the basics – communication and technical skill – and building on that foundation to acquire the following skills and abilities:

• • Leadership

• • Problem-Solving

• • User-Centricity

• • Emotional Intelligence

By investing in yourself and your future as a PM, you’ll be able to take your team and your products from good to great.

Good luck!