Digital Product Managers need to devise, create and manage a successful digital product. The role of this profile involves having technical skills and understanding methodologies like Lean Product Development, SCRUM and Kanban among others. Moreover, these are 5 important skills a Digital Product Manager needs to boost their profile:
Strong communication and listening skills
The daily life of a Digital Product Manager requires dealing with communication tasks since they are in charge of creating the product and communicating its goal. At the end, they must lead the strategy, creation and evolution of the product, and this requires to communicate effectively with multi-functional teams from all levels of the organisation, including future customers as well.
On the one hand, product managers are the voice of the customers so they need to understand their needs and translate them into the team in order to find the right solution. On the other hand, daily basis include motivating the team and communicating the product vision and strategy not only to the company, but the world.
Business understanding and strategic thinking
It is not necessary to have a degree in Business but to have some business basics and be aware of what is going on in the company. Strategic management, Marketing and Sales are some of the things a Digital Product Manager needs to understand. Looking at the big picture is crucial to have a clear understanding of the product’s value proposition, target market and the business goals. Everything that is happening in the organization has a direct impact on the product development through its lifecycle, that’s why having strategic thinking will guide the company’s vision to achieve goals.
Leadership skills
Digital Product Managers are the leaders of product teams, so they might better have people skills to motivate team members and guide them to do a great job. Technical skills matter but a great leader needs to have the ability to make teams work without forgetting individuals motivations and aspirations. However, apart from empowering people, leadership is about keeping everyone on the same page in order to make the product succeed.
Team management and tasks delegation
Digital Product Managers are in charge of several tasks and responsibilities which have to be assigned to team members in a proper way. Finding the right balance between delegating tasks and taking responsibilities is something they have to daily manage. Moreover, they have to make sure that everyone goes in the same direction and works towards a common goal. Another important issue is tracking performance of delegated tasks, measuring what is working and what is not, and offering help if needed.
Great negotiation skills
There are a lot of negotiations a great Digital Product Manager has to deal with to create win-win situations. Stakeholders and teams might have different interests regarding product features, timelines or expectations. DPMs, no matter what, should never forget the voice of the customer within the organization to protect its interests but the company’s interests as well.
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