The common rhetoric is that product managers should act as the glue between engineering, design, and sales. This mindset was a trap. When I first started as a product manager at Tesla, I was so set on being the glue -- being the conduit of all information and communication, shuffling mocks and comments between engineering and design -- that I found myself working many hours while not getting a lot done. While I felt important -- without me, the team would not be able to operate -- my aspiration to be the team’s glue actually made me the biggest bottleneck for my team and took away time that I could spend doing things that product managers are best positioned to do -- to look at the forest.
Strongly agree about the not being the glue. I've also experienced the highs of feeling valued as the glue along with the lows of looking back on my week wondering where did I move the needle.
The nuance that I take away with the 80/20 aspect is it feels lopsided. With 80% strategy, 20% execution I've found that things don't get done. It is easier to sit around and talk about what to do than it is to do them. My engineering counterparts speak of this phenomenon within their "guild" discussions as part of the Spotify organizational model. A lot of great ideas get bandied about but delivering something tangible is elusive.
Someone needs to drive and move the project/feature forward. As the product manager, you've got the vision. You know where the product needs to go and what steps will move things forward. So there is a back and forth between movement and seeing where you're at in the moment. More 50/50.
The other part of this is with a 50/50 structure, it is a partnership. The great PM "bringing opportunities to the team..." sounds like either you're the smartest person on the team or you're the CEO PM mantra. (don't truly think that is how you meant it, but it could be construed that way) It is unrealistic in many instances. Get the team's input and allow them to drive. You'll be amazed at what they come up with.
As a product manager, if you're having to be the glue, then you're working harder than smarter.
I somewhat disagree, I think being the "glue" can be okay, but I think it's the terminology, what "being the glue" means.
Here, glue is defined as "being the conduit of all information and communication, shuffling mocks and comments between engineering and design".
So here, I'm assuming it's gotten to a bit of an extreme, where direct communication say, between engineering and design is occurring or all occur through the PM (i.e. only when PM schedules meetings, PM must be involved in all discussions/decision). You're definitely the conduit = "glue" for communication/decisions. This bottleneck is actually a result of how great you're able to facilitate communication (congrats on doing a good job!). For example, if a PM was really bad at being this "conduit", translating communication incorrectly, people would naturally try to "go around" the PM and communicate directly. That would create it's own set of problems.
So, I think it's about finding the balance and looking for markers that tell you it's gone too far either way (i.e., all communication flowing through only PM, communication going around PMs/PMs not aware). I think it's also dependent on individual PM's skill and preference. I'm not sure I know all the red markers, but I think you hint at it via "The other part of this is with a 50/50 structure".
You're right, being the glue is actually really helpful as you're facilitating communication, and this memo was written from the perspective of it being taken to the extreme. The more nuanced point here is, "being the glue is important, but its just table stakes" for a product manager, as often people think being the glue is sufficient.
Strongly agree about the not being the glue. I've also experienced the highs of feeling valued as the glue along with the lows of looking back on my week wondering where did I move the needle.
The nuance that I take away with the 80/20 aspect is it feels lopsided. With 80% strategy, 20% execution I've found that things don't get done. It is easier to sit around and talk about what to do than it is to do them. My engineering counterparts speak of this phenomenon within their "guild" discussions as part of the Spotify organizational model. A lot of great ideas get bandied about but delivering something tangible is elusive.
Someone needs to drive and move the project/feature forward. As the product manager, you've got the vision. You know where the product needs to go and what steps will move things forward. So there is a back and forth between movement and seeing where you're at in the moment. More 50/50.
The other part of this is with a 50/50 structure, it is a partnership. The great PM "bringing opportunities to the team..." sounds like either you're the smartest person on the team or you're the CEO PM mantra. (don't truly think that is how you meant it, but it could be construed that way) It is unrealistic in many instances. Get the team's input and allow them to drive. You'll be amazed at what they come up with.
As a product manager, if you're having to be the glue, then you're working harder than smarter.
I somewhat disagree, I think being the "glue" can be okay, but I think it's the terminology, what "being the glue" means.
Here, glue is defined as "being the conduit of all information and communication, shuffling mocks and comments between engineering and design".
So here, I'm assuming it's gotten to a bit of an extreme, where direct communication say, between engineering and design is occurring or all occur through the PM (i.e. only when PM schedules meetings, PM must be involved in all discussions/decision). You're definitely the conduit = "glue" for communication/decisions. This bottleneck is actually a result of how great you're able to facilitate communication (congrats on doing a good job!). For example, if a PM was really bad at being this "conduit", translating communication incorrectly, people would naturally try to "go around" the PM and communicate directly. That would create it's own set of problems.
So, I think it's about finding the balance and looking for markers that tell you it's gone too far either way (i.e., all communication flowing through only PM, communication going around PMs/PMs not aware). I think it's also dependent on individual PM's skill and preference. I'm not sure I know all the red markers, but I think you hint at it via "The other part of this is with a 50/50 structure".
You're right, being the glue is actually really helpful as you're facilitating communication, and this memo was written from the perspective of it being taken to the extreme. The more nuanced point here is, "being the glue is important, but its just table stakes" for a product manager, as often people think being the glue is sufficient.
- Adrienne