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Why Should I Talk to a Product Management Mentor?

Product management is a massive field filled with complexity. There might be best practices out there, but there’s no one “right” way to do it. What works for one company might not work even for a company at a similar size, maturity stage, and industry.

It’s also one of the few fields you likely won’t find taught in a university setting. Meaning: product managers don’t study to become PMs. They become PMs through a variety of winding paths that rarely involve any kind of formal training.

All of this amorphousness translates into one thing: learning product management is incredibly difficult.

And because it’s such a complicated field, PMs that have been in the field for years will regularly run into challenges they’ve never faced before.

You could learn by trial and error. But that takes a lot of mistakes, failed experiments, and time.

Or you could talk to a product management mentor and get the insider knowledge you need to make your PM work successful.

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What Can an a Product Management Mentor Do For Me?

A very wise Head of Product once said “Product management is about having the right tools in your toolbox. Your frameworks, decision-making processes, and resources are all tools. As you get more experience, you’ll add more tools to your toolbox.”

A product management mentor can help you do just that. They can use their experience to guide you and advise you on the right tools for your situation.

Plus, since this is a “done with you approach,” you won’t spend your time trying to apply vague advice from blogs or courses.

Instead, you’ll get all the personalized advice from a consultant without getting tied into a (potentially expensive) contract.

You’ll learn how an expert PM thinks, understand how they make decisions, and see exactly how they figure out which tools and frameworks to use.

All of which lets you shortcut the learning curve and hone your product management instinct and skills faster than you ever thought possible.

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Should I talk to a Product Management mentor now?

If you’re considering breaking into the product management field or if you’re a founder who wants to take charge of your product function, then yes, absolutely, you should talk to a product management mentor. They can help you assess your strengths and weaknesses and identify ways you can improve and build your PM skills.

Without the help of a mentor, you’ll probably feel like you’re floundering around in the dark.

If you’re not new to the PM game however, a mentor can still help you when:
• You aren’t certain of the skills you need to make the jump from PM to senior PM
• You’d like to transition into a manager role rather than being an IC
• You’re a founder with a strong product team and want to add a growth product function
• You don’t know what to look for when hiring for your product team
• You’re a new product leader who wants to build a high-performing team

A product management mentor will listen to your challenge, discuss their experience in similar areas, and give you a clear view of your next possible steps. Their advice can be a map to the area of the PM world you want to explore, helping you get results faster and avoid mistakes along the way.