Ryan (APM class of ‘20) shares his thoughts on the role of the product manager.
I hear some people say PMs are the “CEO of the product,” but I think the implications of this paint a misleading picture.
Especially in big orgs (aka the ones that hire lots of PMs,) strategy, direction, and “funding” (either literal money or allocating employee time) is often not entirely in a PM’s control. The job is not about autonomy or authority.
Product managers are about being the glue and being accountable.
Glue — there are lots of functions in a company. Design, marketing, legal, etc, are often siloed. Deciding who needs to be involved, when, and why is a PM’s job. You need to make sure nothing falls through the cracks & that no one is blocked by something that is a waste of their time.
Accountability — Ownership in orgs is also challenging. Sure engineering might “own” site reliability, or design “owns” the UI, but who owns making the right holistic calls? While PMs are no particular function, they provide accountability for all functions contributing to the product. Sometimes that even means stepping in to help fill in the gaps.