Imposter Monster: 1 Year in Product Management

After a year in a product management role, I would say that one of the toughest aspects of the job, and probably hardest to prepare for, has been actually managing my own mind.

 

Imposter syndrome is common in product managers for new reasons. To start, there aren't necessarily "product management" undergraduate degrees or even common tracks for ending up in a PM role. So for the most part, it is somewhat comical to look at your path and say "Yup! this is right where I am supposed to be!"

 

Product managers are expected (both implicitly and explicitly) to be the expert on the product and to occupy "the space between UX, business, and tech." To be frank, it is hard to feel like an expert in the intersection, when you are not an expert in any one of the individual disciplines.

 

So, if I were writing a post for myself to read a year ago, this would be that post. Hopefully, this article eventually helps others who feel like they are taking a ride on the little phony pony.

 

1. Accept that you are not an expert.

Breaking news: You are, in fact, not an expert. Realistically, you will never be an expert because technology is always changing, business goals are different at each stage of a company, and a large part of being a product manager is communicating with people as all this is happening. I would argue that if you feel like you have nothing left to learn, then you are probably about to fall flat on your face. This brings me to the next piece of advice.

 

2. Adopt a learning mentality

By finding ways to schedule and prioritize learning, you gain tangible skills to help with your responsibilities as a product manager. Changing your mindset to being learning-focused also helps reframe failures and missteps as lessons and opportunities for growth. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to shift your internal dialogue from "I can't do this task." to "I know that I will be able to do this task, and I am taking steps to learn it." 

 

3. When you don't know the answer, ask yourself "What would I need to know to feel confident about this decision?"

Always be alert when you use phrased that indicate you don't have a strong argument for a decision. Anything along the lines of "my gut is telling me..." or "it just makes sense that..." should immediately set off alarms. A simple and very explicit way to work through this speed bump is to ask yourself what information you would need to make a confident decision. Would you feel more confident if you knew users are taking X action at a Y rate? What if you knew Approach A would take half the amount of time as Approach B? Whatever that information ends up being, you should spend your time looking for it and then circle back to the original decision.

 

4. Empower others on the team to make their best decision.

Sometimes you need to know when to just be an offensive lineman. In American football, a lineman is a big guy of offense that blocks, protects, and creates openings for the "skill" players. When offensive linemen perform their duties correctly, it seems they aren't even there and neither are any obstacles to the team. Sometimes it helps to think of yourself as the offensive lineman who needs to create openings for the developers and designers to score. This means acknowledging and respecting that the other people on your team are the experts in their field. It also means taking the responsibility to align their individual motives, processes, and ideas of success with the overall goal of the initiative. 

 

5. Use framework and data to make decisions

Luckily there is a ton of content in articles, books, and podcasts about various product frameworks and metrics to use. Instead of diving into one, in particular, I would just like to highlights that taking this structured approach is helpful in a number of ways. It can be one of the most efficient ways to add structure to ambiguity and to build alignment between members of the team. Additionally, it gives you a baseline to evaluate results at the end of a project, which can be particularly helpful if it is unsuccessful. First, you can look at the planned approach and gauge execution. If the team seemingly executed the approach created by the framework and the data but was still unsuccessful, then you can evaluate if the framework used was applicable.

 

6. Don't be afraid to ask others, "How can I do better?"

Whether it is asking your manager directly how to improve or asking one of your teammates how you can communicate more effectively, you can gain a lot from looking for feedback. Of course, this requires you to be open to receiving that feedback. Focus on actually getting better for your next opportunity instead of justifying any previous actions or defending yourself.

 

7. Google search is your friend

There are almost 8 billion people on this planet today. The chance of you being the ONLY one with a particular question or problem is very low. If the imposter monster is really on your back, making it difficult to ask people questions directly, then Google search is always there for a little help.

 

Conclusion.

I am by no means a sage., and there were many times when I didn't use these steps. In fact, they were most certainly learned "the hard way" because I struggled with - and continue to struggle with - imposter syndrome. All of the steps may not be relevant or helpful for each person, but ultimately what matters is believing that you have the capability to perform, even if at the moment you feel lightyears away from excellence.

 

Don't let the poser gopher win. Happy whacking!

 

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This post was written according to the link below to study English.

 

https://medium.com/@kyranmc/imposter-monster-1-year-in-product-management-e85e276482b4