Matthew Poepsel
mpoepsel@gomez.com
Director of Product Management
Gomez, Inc.

Leadership is an admired, yet often misunderstood personal characteristic. My former employer--the United States Marine Corps--knows the fundamental importance of leadership. That organization has a dedication to leadership education and development unlike almost any other. In the private sector, and especially at smaller or younger companies, leadership can be overlooked by individuals who fail to effectively demonstrate leadership capabilities and by management who may fail to provide adequate leadership development for young managers. Yet, leadership is critically important for all companies and at all levels of our organizations.

For product managers in particular, the subject of leadership is critical for several reasons. Most product managers have significant customer contact. They are expected to appropriately represent their company and to translate customer feedback and market information into effective product and service planning efforts. Additionally, the nature of a product manager's work is highly cross-functional, putting them in direct contact with a large percentage of the organization on any given day. Finally, product managers are focused on the future, with all of its inherent risks and opportunities.

For product managers looking to answer the leadership challenge, it is important to consider three distinct perspectives: leading yourself, leading your team, and leading others.

A Foundation for Leadership

Leadership starts at home. To be an effective leader, you must:

Set the example. How you choose to conduct yourself will dictate the degree to which you will be a successful leader. A professional appearance, effective communication skills, and exemplary conduct are prerequisites for leadership in any organization.

Be confident. Leaders must be confident when delivering their messages and interacting with others. Confidence is deeply personal and requires comfort with yourself, your capabilities, and the information you consider when making decisions. Few qualities are more admirable in a leader than their confidence in themselves and in their message.

Know your stuff. You have to demonstrate strong capabilities in your chosen field to have credibility when working with others. If any part of your product management game is lacking, take one or more courses offered by Pragmatic MarketingTM to increase your domain knowledge. Find the time to research various aspects of the product marketing discipline both on the web and at the bookstore.

Know your customer. When you spend time getting to know your customers and your market overall, you can speak with certainty. In today's competitive environment, customer knowledge is essential for effective leadership.

Leading a Team of Product Managers

If, like me, you are fortunate enough to lead a team of talented product managers, you know that leadership in this context is highly rewarding and challenging at the same time. When leading other product managers, be sure to:

Set the direction. Be as explicit as possible about the top priorities for your team. It is too easy for today's product managers to be caught in an endless cycle of firefighting and reactionary projects."Connect the dots? by directly linking your initiatives and investments to corporate objectives and provide frequent ?course corrections? as priorities inevitably shift.

Protect and serve. Strike that critical balance between serving your internal and external customers and protecting your product managers from distractions, misuse of their time, and ambiguous support tasks. You must constantly communicate the role of your product managers as 'messengers of the market' and preserve their focus on the 'future of the product line'. Let sales and engineering managers know how they can most effectively work with your product managers and ask them for these same insights in return.

Make the tough decisions. The requirement to consider tradeoffs comes with the territory for a product manager. No organization has unlimited resources, and a fast-paced environment requires us to make decisions with incomplete or less-than-perfect information. Clearly communicate the decision-making process behind each investment choice as well as its result. Once you have made and communicated your decisions, don't look back unless you are looking to improve the decision process--not its outcome.

Be flexible. Everyone brings a unique set of experiences, capabilities, and personality traits to the team. This requires an effective leader to be part psychologist and part chameleon. Learn to consider each team member individually and adapt your leadership style to maximize the effectiveness of your message on a personal level while maintaining its original intent.

The Importance of Leading Others

The cross-functional nature of the product manager's job puts us in constant contact with a large number of functional units. To make the most of this position:

Lead every day in every way. Every conversation, every email, and every interaction provides us with leadership opportunities. When working with other departments, the responsibility to provide direction and instill confidence remains ours. For an organization to succeed, all of its contributions have to be as effective as possible; this requires its leaders to cross-pollinate and spread their influence as much as possible.

Learn to lead without authority. It is rare that a product manager will be given direct responsibility for the headcount and budgets of all resources related to their product line. Influencing their use, however, requires considerable levels of communication and diplomacy. A genuine interest in the success of the organization, an interest in those individuals you work with, and a strong foundation in product management will position you to make the most of your unique position.

Lead up, down, and sideways. Leadership clearly includes working with direct reports and even peers, but one of the most neglected leadership contributions is the opportunity found when 'leading up'. When working with those more senior than you, it is important to expand your perception and consider their motivations and requirements. Understanding challenges and opportunities form their perspective will allow you to use your professionalism, passion, and market knowledge to best support them in their efforts.

Lead inside and out. While most of your leadership opportunities may appear to exist with those whom you work most closely with, significant opportunities can be found when working with customers, as well. Remember that they are not necessarily experts in those areas your products and services are designed to deliver. Use your expertise and influence to help them solve their problems in the most effective and appropriate--not necessarily the most popular- way possible. When customers understand your genuine interest in their benefit, they will begin to see you in a new light and increasingly turn to you for information and assistance.

The Impact of Leadership

Demonstrating leadership capabilities is a personally and professionally rewarding endeavor. When you lead effectively, your organization will benefit from increased direction, motivation, and alignment. The recipients of your leadership will appreciate your time and contributions and will feel better about the work that they are doing. As your leadership style and skills continue to evolve, accept the challenge and take advantage of daily opportunities to lead the way. Semper Fi.

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Matthew Poepsel is Director of Product Management for G?ez. He has worked at Gomez (an Internet Performance Management company) since 1999. He holds an MBA and an MS in Management Information Systems from Boston University and served 6 years in the United States Marine Corps as an Arabic Linguist. His product management research and interests include the areas of innovation and economic ecosystems. He can be reached at mpoepsel@gomez.com or at mpoepsel@yahoo.com.