PRODUCT MANAGERS AS LEADERS

Many companies I work with are adamant that their product managers should be leaders. If product managers are leaders, why are they not called product leaders? Actually, in some companies they are—and sometimes they are called product owners or product general managers (GMs). Nevertheless, the fact is that leadership and management are situational and that product managers have to practice both skills. They manage a product or product line, and they lead peers and cross-functional teams toward a product vision. Good product managers approach strategy and tactics, as well as leadership and management, holistically. (Nobody ever said that the job was easy!) So let’s take a look at the varied aspects of leadership and management—remembering that one is not inherently better than the other.