I think that’s the challenging part. A product manager is supposed to stuff holes in your team that no one else currently does. Do you have a strong TL with a good product sense? Then the PM should probably spend their time talking to customers, and not interfere with the engineering team so much.
Do you have a good UX team, but the engineering team is just a bit too big to be comfortable? Then the PM should work with the team to streamline communications and processes.
The hard part about this is that on the one hand, you need a PM that is experienced enough that they can set up processes and be disciplined enough to make sure they are followed. On the other hand, you need a PM that is able to embrace the chaos on aspects of the teams organization where it is beneficial for the team. Oh, and also they should be a domain expert, if possible. Know SQL. Know how to talk to management. Etc.
I think if you have a good one, it is a strong force multiplier for the team. If you have a bad one, it is a force subtractor.
And it is extremely difficult to tell beforehand (or even while they are actually working in that team!) which kind of PM you have. It’s one of those roles that, if it’s done perfectly, people won’t be sure whether you have done anything at all.
But I agree with the premise that there are probably too many bad ones in circulation right now.
Do you have a good UX team, but the engineering team is just a bit too big to be comfortable? Then the PM should work with the team to streamline communications and processes.
The hard part about this is that on the one hand, you need a PM that is experienced enough that they can set up processes and be disciplined enough to make sure they are followed. On the other hand, you need a PM that is able to embrace the chaos on aspects of the teams organization where it is beneficial for the team. Oh, and also they should be a domain expert, if possible. Know SQL. Know how to talk to management. Etc.
I think if you have a good one, it is a strong force multiplier for the team. If you have a bad one, it is a force subtractor.
And it is extremely difficult to tell beforehand (or even while they are actually working in that team!) which kind of PM you have. It’s one of those roles that, if it’s done perfectly, people won’t be sure whether you have done anything at all.
But I agree with the premise that there are probably too many bad ones in circulation right now.