How to Create a Great Environment for Product Managers
Guest blog from Ed Biden, Chief Product Officer at Hustle Badger, on why underperforming product teams often reflect leadership shortcomings rather than team inadequacy, and how to create the right environment.
Not seeing the results from your Product Team?
CEO: “We need to replace our entire product team” Me: “Um, ok, let’s talk about this for a moment…”
As a Chief Product Officer and Product Advisor, I’ve encountered numerous frustrated executives who believe replacing their entire Product Teams with more experienced professionals is the solution. However, this often reflects leadership shortcomings rather than team inadequacy.
Strong Product Team results depend on combining talented Product Managers with an excellent environment. Without the right environment, even exceptional PMs will underperform.
Before initiating mass replacements, consider improving your organizational environment:
- It’s faster, cheaper, and less disruptive
- You’ll need to do it regardless
- Your existing team may surprise you
So, how do you create a great environment for Product Managers as a leader?
Have consistent goals Embrace agility while maintaining stable priorities. Quarterly adjustments are acceptable; weekly changes prevent momentum and team continuity.
Minimise distractions Progress suffers with excessive initiatives. Shield teams from executive pet projects, internal requests, and unfocused feedback. Maintain 1-2 core priorities.
Explain the context Invest time clarifying goals and feature rationale upfront. Vague widget requests create misalignment between leadership expectations and team understanding.
Talk about the money Product Managers cannot make sound commercial decisions without financial visibility. Integrate business metrics into every discussion.
Be explicit where you will take risk Teams naturally conserve risk due to accountability pressures. Clearly communicate acceptable risk levels to enable faster progress.
Manage their role breadth While Product Managers excel across communications, analysis, delivery, and research, they cannot simultaneously master everything within limited hours. Distribute tasks fairly among design, engineering, and data functions.
Agree a lightweight reporting process Leadership requires status visibility, but excessive reporting consumes valuable time. Co-create streamlined reporting with your PMs — define essential information and let them determine delivery methods.
For additional support, explore resources at Hustle Badger or contact us for workshops and advisory services.
Looking to expand your Product Team? Connect with Lauren Stuart, our Product & Project recruitment specialist.