Most Important Skills For A Senior Product Manager At Amazon
Hema, a Senior Product Manager at Amazon, emphasizes the critical need for effective cross-team communication and navigation, noting that "different teams want different styles of communication," as a key skill. Strategic decision-making supported by data and a "mindful problem-solving" approach are equally vital for success in this role, ensuring projects are aligned with Amazon's overall goals and customer impact.
Communication, Problem-Solving, Strategic Thinking, Data Analysis, Cross-Team Collaboration
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Hema Chalamalasetty
Senior Product Manager
Amazon
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
UCLA Anderson, MBA
Engineering - Chemical
Technology
Product / Service / Software Development and Management
International Student, Immigrant, Worked 20+ Hours in School, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Effective cross-team communication and navigation are crucial for success, as different teams (engineering, design) have varying communication styles and needs.
2. Strategic decision-making is essential; product managers must leverage data and analytical thinking to support their choices and demonstrate the impact on customers and the business.
3. Mindful problem-solving and a strategic viewpoint are vital when making decisions, ensuring that all decisions are data-driven and well-justified
Transcript
What skills are most important for a job like yours?
The most important skill for a product manager is navigating across multiple teams. When you start working on a product or feature, you have to pull together different pieces of work and communicate the vision to various teams.
Communicating the vision for your product and what you're trying to achieve is crucial. If information is lost in the communication process, achieving your goals becomes impossible.
Being able to communicate well and navigate different teams is key because they each have their own communication styles. Engineering teams prefer crisp, shorter calls.
Design teams, however, want to spend more time understanding the customer and explaining details, allowing for creativity. I think that's the most important skill.
Secondly, as a product manager, you have to make strategic decisions. Mindful problem-solving and analytical thinking become very important.
For example, in any project, it’s vital to bring a strategic viewpoint and support everything with data. This explains why Amazon should pursue a certain initiative.
You need to articulate the impact on customers, Amazon, or existing products. I believe that becomes very, very important.