How can a product manager who doesn’t understand technology gain a foothold in a technology company?

[[161368]]

I'm a non-technical product manager. I don't have a degree in computer science, electrical engineering, or anything related, but I've always worked in the tech field. When I jumped into my first product management role many years ago, I was a bit overwhelmed. In addition to dealing with software developers, I also had to work closely with people in operations, sales, marketing, and technical project management.

After a lot of hard work and a lot of hard-fought debate, I eventually learned how to lead a team. But looking back now, it wasn’t an easy path, and there was no guide to follow. So how do you gain the trust of a technical team without a technical background?

For me, it took a lot of trial and error to really gain buy-in and trust from the team. I straddled marketing, sales (they told me what they needed to sell the product), and technology (I needed to convince them to build it). The last thing a technical person wants to hear is, "You need to do this because marketing said so." I tried that and it failed. It's not the best way to build a bridge and motivate a team.

I had a lot of debates with the entire team about the product roadmap in the meetings I led. I spent a lot of time describing features and how I thought they should be built. I threw myself into this long battle.

The technical team would always ask me, “Why are we doing this?” or, “This isn’t the right way to do it.”

One morning, while I was driving to the office, it all became clear. It dawned on me that my job wasn’t to tell engineers how to do their jobs, my job was to explain why the features on the roadmap were the right ones for the customers and the business. I wasn’t a technologist, but I was a business person who could describe the product vision and explain why the features I was asking for were important. From that point on, everything started to make sense.

Product management is still an apprenticeship, and you need to keep learning on the job. Here are a few things that work for me, and if you are a non-technical product manager leading a product team, these points may come in handy in your work:

Become a customer and market

You have to understand the customer, the market, and the business better than anyone else on your team (or even in the company). Product teams want to be inspired and know that the work they are doing has an impact on the customer and ultimately the business. To me, this is the key to winning teams.

I remember one meeting where I laid out the business case and the financial impact of the features and requirements I was proposing. The entire team was engaged in that meeting and asked questions to learn more about whether I really thought sales could sell it. Your first responsibility as a product manager is to be an advocate for the customer and the market.

Technically curious

At a technology company, trying to understand all the technical details of what the development team is doing can be a daunting task. However, the more I ask developers questions and genuinely listen and learn, the better I can understand and represent their perspectives. Really working to understand what they do on a daily basis, what obstacles they face, and building mutual trust and respect. When they see that I am genuinely interested in learning about technology, a strong relationship is built between us.

Leadership Confidence

Confidence is not arrogance. Confidence comes from passion and a deep understanding of your customers, your product, and your team. Confidence is not easy to come by, and it doesn’t just happen. But it can be built over time when you can master the “why” and “how.” You can also build your confidence by having consecutive wins that demonstrate that the team is on track to win in the long term.

I vaguely remember that when I presented our product plan and product roadmap at the quarterly business planning meeting, I was full of confidence because the plan was built on a customer-centric strategy and the team had achieved many wins with Fortune 500 customers, which inspired everyone.

As a non-technical product manager, leading a product team is one of the best jobs in the world, but it’s not one of the easiest jobs to master.

Every product manager will find his or her own path. For me, becoming a customer champion, a go-to-market guru, and building trust with different teams has been well worth the effort.

As a non-technical product manager, are you successfully leading your product team?