GE 21: Leading with laughter: The fun-filled approach to product management.
A well-known slogan for the gambling industry here in the UK is “When the fun stops: Stop!”. The slogan could equally apply to the product management profession. Reading through social media posts and product management forums can be a grim experience, with challenges usually falling into one of the following categories:
Lack of agency — The PMs feel like they are just order takers, receiving pre-determined instructions from the CEO, the sales team or the board. They feel they cannot exert their own influence or creativity and they do not own their product or roadmap.
Too project focused — The PMs feel like they are essentially project managers with the majority of their work defined as projects that have a pre-defined start date, end date and scope.
Too delivery focused — The PMs feel like they spend too much time on execution and resource management types of tasks and not enough time on value-generation, discovery and ideation activities.
Custom work — The PMs feel pressured into allocating development resource to produce custom features to support a VIP client or a big new opportunity.
Methodology wars — The PMs feels they are trapped in the middle between a development team who want to work in accordance with pure agile principles and a business who demand measurable output on a defined schedule.
Wow, I almost got PTSD even writing that list. The reality is that a product manager will experience all of the above during the course of their career. Some jobs and firms will be better than others. At some firms, the issues will appear infrequently, at others they will be hard-coded in the company culture.
So what are your options?
- Pack in product management all together.
2. Try a new role at a new company.
3. Grin and bear it.
4. Influence and promote change.
Spoiler alert: The answer lands somewhere between 3) and 4).
Product management is a leadership position. But that leadership usually has to be done across multiple functions and departments without direct management responsibility. All of the above challenges have solutions that are implemented in firms that have a more mature product management function. But that takes time. Not weeks. Not months. Years.
The good news is that it is hugely satisfying to build that maturity, especially if it results in better measurable results for you, your team and the company. But how do you survive in the meantime? How do you stop yourself burning out. Getting frustrated. Feeling stressed. Getting depressed. Packing it all in.
The answer is a three letter word that you might not readily associate with work.
Fun.
You have to learn to laugh. At yourself. At the situations that you are placed in. At your mistakes. At your boss. At your colleagues. Note: exercise caution for the last two. There is a time and a place!
To have fun at work and to laugh is not to be confused with not taking your work seriously. At least I mean, take your success seriously. Leave your colleagues in no doubt that you want you, your product and your company to succeed. In fact, you should strive to become known as the person in your company who most wants your product to succeed.
But that doesn’t mean all the work, every minute of the day, has to be done with a straight face with beads of sweat dropping from your forehead on to the keyboard. No. There has to be a bit of fun along the way. Not even. There actually has to be a lot of fun along the way to keep you up during the tough times and in it for the long haul.
Far be it from me to tell you how to have a good time. But here are some suggestions on how to generate some positive energy as it relates to the average product management role.
Start interactions positively
Product managers can be involved in a lot of team meetings, stand-ups, reviews, interviews and get togethers. We often organise and host them. Make a point of being the first on the call and ensure that you start each meeting positivily. Thank attendees for their time and contributions. Pick an item of good news to share. Crack a joke. Smile a lot.
Celebrate your successes
When you and your team achieve something. Celebrate. No matter how small the achievement is. Call out key contributors. Celebrate little and often, but if it is a big milestone — go big with the celebrations. Ensure you have some budget to push the boat out when needed. Yes sometimes, I do mean a boat.
Internal awards
Host a regular internal award ceremony. Engage your team by collecting nominations and votes. Ensure you have some “special awards” to gently poke fun such as “Most likely to quote the agile manifesto” or “Worst idea of the year”. Don’t discriminate and don’t pick on anyone. Lampoon yourself harder than anyone else.
Get to know everyone
Take the time to get to know everyone you work with regularly. What makes them tick. What do they like to do and what makes them laugh. Then make them laugh or at least generate a quiet chuckle from time to time.
Recruit positivity
When recruiting, consider the impact that the candidate’s general attitute and demeanour will have on the wider team. Being grumpy can be ok — just not all the time and you still need to be able to take a joke.
At one company I worked for, the interview process had an informal “airport test”. Recruiters were asked to consider the scenario where you were at the airport with the prospective employee and you heard an announcement that your flight had been cancelled. You would both be stuck at the airport for at least 4 hours together. How would you feel? Would the time fly or drag?
Leave baggage behind
Made a mistake? Own it. Learn the lessons. Apologise to everyone that was invested in what happened. Then metaphorically screw it up into a ball and throw it in the “things I would have done differently if given a chance” pile. Then put that pile somewhere that you don’t have to look at it. Ever again.
Find and ride positive energy
New sale from the sales team. New customer. New user. New person joined the company. New way of using your product. First time using a bit of new tech. Nice new pencil case. A sunny day. Be on the constant watch for positive events that you can harness, amplify and share with your team. They will fill up the fuel tank — you are going to need all every last drop for the long journey ahead.
