What is the biggest challenge that product managers face today, and what product skills are most in demand? Here is what our community has to say about the year ahead, based on over 600 survey responses on LinkedIn.
We asked what skills and products people are focusing on building this year. Over half (56%) stated that AI/ML was a big focus. While it may feel overwhelming to keep up with constant changes in product, fractional product leader Beks Yelland, CPO at Swanbarton, highlights the need to get comfortable with learning. She says to “focus on developing skills that will help you stay ahead, ensuring you're always evolving with the landscape and ready for future challenges".
Building customer trust (17%) and doing more with less (16%) are also key areas of skill improvement, say respondents.
Scott Olswold, Senior Product Manager, commented on these findings, saying: “As we improve our product, building and maintaining customer trust is job one. That increased customer value is why products thrive, not just survive, in the market. A product manager who is afraid to reach out and engage customers has no trust in their own product.”
We also asked about career aspirations. Over a third (35%) of respondents aim to strengthen their leadership skills this year, while 28% want to expand their technical skills. Networking, building domain expertise, and finding a mentor are also areas for growth this year.
What career aspirations do product managers have? For well over half (58%), their goal is clear: to launch an impactful product. Further, almost one in four (23%) aspires to be a CPO or senior leader in the near future. Finally, 12% of respondents aim to build a strong product team, while 7% plan to move into consulting.
Mind the Product has plenty of guidance on how to create an impactful product. For example, Marty Cagan, in his talk at #mtpcon London had some thoughts on how to get started:
On challenges in product, the results are relatively balanced. Over a third (35%) say that influencing stakeholders is their main obstacle this year. Close behind this is keeping up with tech trends (26%) and striking a balance between being strategic and tactical (21%). Another clear challenge is team alignment.
How can product people better influence stakeholders? We believe that it’s about the way you communicate with them. Consider who the key stakeholders are and what they need to know. Give them touchpoints, keep up contact, and have regular 1-2-1s with those who are most important. It may be as easy as just sending the odd Slack message or chatting with them for five minutes before you start a meeting.
In 2022, we ran an MTP panel on stakeholder influence and team alignment. In the session, product leadership coach Randy Silver explained how the key to creating effective relationships is to ensure that everyone involved in the journey is “putting in the same amount of work to achieve the ultimate goal.” He used Emily Webber’s Team Onion framework as a reference to enable teams to have equal ownership over a product goal.
Vice President of Product Management at All Day Kitchens Cris Valerio's tip was to “go through all scenarios that a product might end up in, and figure out how you would solve that. It really engages the whole team to understand every possible worst-case scenario". Doing this makes you feel comfortable with where your product is going after completing that stage.
What are your biggest career aspirations and challenges for the year ahead?
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