The Overlap is a newsletter somewhere between product development and organizational development. It comes out every other Wednesday.
Recently, I tweeted:
Product managers (and managers in general) ask for updates from their team all the time. It’s part of our job.
The question is, what progress are you cultivating by asking for those updates?
Are you asking for an update so that you can…
Alleviate your anxiety
Find something to fix, be a hero, and reinforce your value of being needed
Feel like you have some control over a project you don’t really have control over
Tell another leader that you’re “cracking down on your team” (and thus, relieve their anxiety)
Or, are you asking for an update so that you can…
Document the status in software, so that no one needs another meeting to understand the project’s status
Understand what’s in the way of the work moving forward
Understand why things are taking longer than expected so that you can share this reasoning with another stakeholder who’s rushing the team
Surface core challenges/blockers, and invite your team to brainstorm a solution
Help your team limit work-in-progress
Support your team in achieving flow
I’m guilty of asking for updates for the reasons listed under the first list. It takes self-awareness and reflection to recognize when you’re asking for updates for those reasons.
Product managers shouldn’t just ask for the latest project update. We should strive to catalyze progress.
Catalyze is not micromanage until progress happens. Catalyze is asking powerful questions, soliciting other people’s point of view, sharing your own ideas, and building alignment.
What progress am I cultivating by asking for this update?
Let’s ponder that question before we ask for an update from our teams.
What I’m Reading
Now, Next, Future — a simple approach to delivering your strategy
“There’s no machismo person saying, ‘It’s my way or the highway.’ It’s like: Let’s all taste it, let’s all think about it, do we like it?”
See you in two weeks,
–tim