Interview on The Product Experience, the Mind the Product podcast with Randy Silver.

It’s worth adjusting to the new realities of operating under pressure. First, because we shouldn’t expect the pressure to go away soon, but also because there are aspects of it which can help make us better in some aspects of how we build products in ways that also serve the business.

This post complements my previous posts on clarity for PMs and points out the additional aspects of creating clarity that leaders can and should have in mind.

All layers of clarity are interrelated, but clear communication always matters!

Role clarity is how well you understand what’s expected from you and what you expect from others during collaboration. This usually has some general aspects such as what’s expected from a Senior PM in your organization, but often also has context-related aspects such as how to best act as a Senior PM within a particular team given its scope, the current situation, and the other team members involved.

Clarifying roles is even more crucial in temporary collaborations such as working groups or multi-team efforts for a joint product initiative. Sometimes this is just about who will feel responsible for scheduling a follow-up meeting or informing others of the progress, but it also involves mandates for decision-making.

As a PM it’s important not to rely on your superiors to provide complete role clarity for you, but to take the initiative to create it whenever you notice ambiguity.

Part 1 in a series on clarity, the superpower of product people.

Pushing for clarity is our job as product managers.

A lightly biased analogy

Why product managers need to take the driver seat in getting alignment for their product.