This week at ProductTank London I introduced my Product Management Skills Assessment. Until now, this resource was used only with my coaching clients and for students of my career planning workshop (more on that below).
Here's the talk if you'd like to watch:
Today, I want to share key insights from that talk with you.
As Product Managers, we’re experts at creating roadmaps and strategic plans for our products. We understand vision, strategy, and execution. Yet surprisingly, many of us don’t apply these same powerful skills to our own careers.
Most PMs have a product roadmap—a written artefact that summarises what will happen to achieve meaningful outcomes. Would you expect your product to have a better chance of success with or without a roadmap, a strategy, and vision?
Why then, do so many PMs lack a career roadmap? Without one, we’re essentially navigating our careers without a plan, despite caring deeply about achieving meaningful outcomes.
A framework for career growth
The same fundamental elements we use in product management can be adapted remarkably well to career planning:
Vision: What you want to achieve in your career over the next 5 or 10 years.
Strategy: The big steps or outcomes needed to move closer to that vision.
Roadmap: What you’re working on now, next, and later that will help you achieve those strategic outcomes.
Skills: Your current capabilities, strengths, and areas for growth.
The assessment helps PMs understand their current capabilities across four key categories: Discovery, Strategy, Delivery, and People.
During the talk, I shared a slimmed down version of my skills framework and over 100 PMs completed their own assessment.
Why PMs need a Skills Assessment
What’s particularly interesting is that most companies don’t provide comprehensive feedback or calibration tools for the product management role.
Some PMs receive minimal feedback, while others only get feedback on how well they meet company performance expectations.
Very few people I've talked with work at companies that help them understand which aspects of the PM job they excel at and where they can improve. Instead, they are most commonly evaluated against company principles.
By building a better understanding of your proficiency across PM Skills, you can make more informed decisions about which areas to improve in, or which to double-down on depending on the outcome you're after (e.g., a new job, a promotion, or just getting better at your job).
Managing your career like a PM
If you’re ready to take the next step in your Product Management career, join me and other experienced Product Managers for the next career planning workshop. We’ll dive deeper into creating your personal career vision, strategy, and roadmap.
We’ll work hands-on with these frameworks and you’ll leave with a clear plan for your next career move.
Join the wait list and reserve your spot.