Communication

What it is

Receiving and conveying ideas and information so that people understand and progress is made.

Why it's important

• You understand others' perspectives and the dynamics at play
• People catch the vision, understand the product strategy, and anticipate the roadmap
• Everyone is aware of the status and action being taken
• Issues are resolved, progress is made and change is navigated efficiently

When you need it

• Coordination in research, design, scoping, and planning
• Status meetings and presentations (in person and otherwise)
• Written communication in emails, texts, Slack, etc.
• Conflict resolution

How to get it

• Identify your key stakeholders, get to know them, their goals, their communication styles / preferences
• "Seek first to understand, then to be understood"
• "Start with heart"
• Set up regular channels and triggers for communicating direction and status
• Learn and apply principles of conflict resolution
• Establish, repeat and reinforce clarity
• Learn how to expertly format and deliver communication in various formats (in-person, Slack, email, presentation, documentation, etc.)

Resources

• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Habit 5)
• The Advantage (disciplines 2, 3, and 4)
• Crucial Conversations
• Radical Candor
• The Anatomy of Peace

The competency

You are an effective communicator from email and phone conversations to in-person presentations (including the formatting and delivery) and negotiations -- both internal and external. You are a good listener and have an outward mindset. You are not hasty or hot headed. You're able to calmly respond to feedback, questions and concerns about you, your work, and the product. You come across as professional, confident, intelligent, direct, creative, personable, and as a leader.

The quality of your communication is clearly superior, such that others look to you to help draft content, communicate topics, demonstrate product, engage with customers, etc. Your communication is rarely misunderstood, is well-received, and is efficient at communicating large and complex topics in short.

The frequency of your communication and your use of comprehensive / correct channels ensures that people are always in the know. Due to the efficiency / quality of your communication, it doesn't suffer from "banner blindness" and is well-consumed / adopted.

Outputs and deliverables

The product manager must work with the product marketing, support, dev, UX, and exec teams to get alignment, get feedback, and ensure the highest quality, customer experience, and ROI (in terms of vision, adoption, and business value). Each of these teams should always be well-informed and aligned with the vision, strategy, and status.

• Regular 1:1s with team and key stakeholders (weekly, monthly, or whatever is best) with sufficient time to address all major concerns
• Regular alignment sessions with key stakeholder groups, and gathering their feedback
• Ad-hoc updates and feedback sessions with key stakeholders
• Release communication (internal and external) as well as demonstrations and conveying the roadmap to key audiences

Outcomes

The following can be demonstrated between you, your key stakeholders and the relevant audiences (internal and external):

• Shared understanding
• Improved relationships/trust
• Coordinated action
• ROI that was driven through / with excellent communication