Sara Sell, Director of Product Management at Daxko, attributes her success in product management to foundational skills gained from her career as a research audiologist and educator. She highlights the importance of critical thinking, problem-solving, and structured communication—skills she believes are essential for effective product management. Through her experiences, she learned to approach customer data with skepticism and curiosity, challenging initial assumptions to uncover true user needs. Sara stresses the significance of storytelling, audience-specific messaging, and transparency in aligning teams for long-term success.
I find myself mind-blown by how much my background in research and teaching has helped me. Good product managers often have some innate skills in their DNA - skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, and structured communication.
For example, I was recently reviewing customer usage data and I noticed a trend where a particular feature had very low engagement. The initial assumption was that customers simply didn't need it. But that didn't sit right with me.
It's important to craft messages for different audiences and to foster transparency within teams to align them across the organization. This ties back to long-term success.
The skills I developed in research and teaching - skepticism and curiosity - are critical in product management. They help in understanding user needs and driving product decisions.
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