Playing Organizational Whack-A-Mole
I have led Product Management, Product Marketing, and Marketing teams for over 20 years at companies of various sizes. In these roles, I often found myself reacting to issues as they arose, which limited my effectiveness as a leader. The issues were diverse and challenging at each company- making them very hard to predict. One time our VP of Engineering insisted on exploring adding the latest technology to our product. At another company, I was onboarding a new Product Manager, and realized our roadmapping process documentation was severely lacking. With each new fire, I had to stop other important work, collaborate with my team, and work to fill in the gap. But it always felt like a game of “Whack a mole”, with new issues cropping up all the time. See our article on how to build great product management teams for more information on that.
It did get better over time as I learned. Across different companies, I gained an increasing understanding of how to run a more effective product management team. I worked on establishing a collaborative, learning culture, because I learned it would be a key to employee retention. Even today, Product Management Festival’s 2022 Trends and Benchmarks report found that the 2nd single biggest reason PMs leave their jobs is due to poor organizational culture, only exceeded by seeing no opportunities to grow.
Looking back, I wish I’d had a guide to help me get a holistic view of how well my team was operating. I would have benefited from a way to identify both strengths and gaps—not just in individual skills, but also in our processes, methodologies, and decision-making. With such insights, I could have created a plan to improve my product management team, prioritizing and addressing the most critical issues first.
Time for a Checkup?
My experience is far from unique. Over 25 years in business, Productside has seen the same story play out over and over again: Product Management teams with great people, but lacking insight into the gaps that cause recurring issues. Over the years, we’ve tested various approaches across training and advisory to help uncover and solve for these problems, and have helped hundreds of teams advance to the next level of maturity. This inspired us to develop an even more powerful evaluation tool integrating these various techniques from our consulting team.
Like a comprehensive physical, we’ve developed our Productside Diagnostic Report to provide a holistic evaluation of your Product Management teams’ health and maturity.
A Comprehensive Review
The Diagnostic Report evaluates nearly 150 unique criteria to assess team maturity, considering not just the team but also the broader organizational culture and support structures. It uses the Productside Blueprint to map these observations to a modern Product Lifecycle Process, identifying strengths and areas for improvement. Each phase of the Blueprint includes key categories that are scored, providing a truly comprehensive understanding across 22 categories of how well the Product Management team is operating and being supported for success. Categories include having an outcomes-focus, managing stakeholder relationships, understanding customer needs, having a supportive executive team, having an experimental and learning culture, and many more. See the accompanying chart for the full set of product maturity categories.
To develop the report, Productside conducts an in-depth analysis of the PM team and the teams that interact with it. We interview PMs, stakeholders and leaders, review documentation like roadmaps, PRDs, etc. and attend process meetings and development ceremonies. Based on this deep understanding of the Product Managment organization, we then review the evaluation criteria above, producing a score for each effectiveness area. Finally, we present the findings from the report to leadership and provide a prioritized list of recommendations on what gaps to address first and how to best go about it. All in, it takes between 30 and 60 days to complete the assessment and report on the findings.
Some of our clients use the Diagnostic Report to guide their own efforts to improve, while others engage with Productside to provide customized training, process improvement services, and coaching as part of a complete transformation plan.
Real Results
Although the Diagnostic Report is fairly new, we’re already seeing exciting results. One customer shared that the report helped them revisit and renew past practices while highlighting new areas for improvement. They noted, “The Diagnostic Report helped our leadership team understand how to better support our product launches, promoting the ‘what’s next’ and the long view. It emphasized the why and the what more broadly across the whole product core team.”
Are You Ready to Transform?
Where is your team today? Do they have the right skills, processes, and cultures to succeed? If you are fighting fires as a leader, chances are your people are too. This is not the most fun part of the job. Get out of firefighting mode by gaining a holistic view of your organization, and learn what you need to do next to grow a product management team that’s excited to come to work everyday.
Contact our team to learn how!
Get a free quick take on your team’s maturity
Not quite ready for a full Diagnostic Report? If you want to start with a free self-assessment of your team, we also offer the Product Management Team Assessment that helps you take a first look at your teams’ capabilities and gaps, so you know where to focus to improve performance. Learn more about our Team Assessment here.
