Do you think it makes sense to grow PM competence within the organization or hire people from the broader market to succeed faster?

This is a tough question to answer because it is so situational. For example - I have seen organizations where PM is so immature that it is essentially a project management function. Melissa Perri even uses such an example in her excellent book Escaping the Build Trap! While in Perri's fictional organization, she was able to develop the PMPs into PMs in the end, many companies would opt to try and hire a few true PMs first.

Another dimension is mix of seniority which is critical on any team (just like in engineering). If you have a team of all very junior-to-intermediate PMs, you may find that you cannot develop any PMs fast enough into being sufficiently senior & that you need to hire outside. A great Staff+ PM is worth their weight in gold because not only do they generate great results themselves, but they act as an accelerant to the rest of the organization: engineers and designers become both more productive and happier.

You also asked about switching folks from other roles in a company into PM (e.g. engineering, sales engineering, customer success, professional services, support, etc.). In my experience, this can work, but moreso at junior to intermediate levels on the PM career ladder. This is because there are a lot of skills that a PM needs to employ that are sometimes not exercised in these other roles. Many such transferees need to be disabused of the notion that PM is just about having a huge wealth of domain knowledge and employing that to "tell people what to do". Even if you can overcome such a barrier and the candidate truly wants to do PM, the compensation gap from where they are coming (particularly if coming from a revenue-oriented role) and perceived demotion may be unsurmountable & you may need to hire from outside.

apologies for the long read, in advance

When considering the growth of Product Management competence within an organization, it's crucial to strike a balance between nurturing internal talent and bringing in fresh perspectives from the broader market. Both approaches have their unique advantages and can complement each other in building a robust PM team.

Growing PM competence internally offers several benefits. It promotes a deep understanding of the company's culture, processes, and products, which can be invaluable in product management. Internal candidates are already aligned with the organization's vision and values, potentially reducing the onboarding time and ensuring a smoother transition into PM roles. Moreover, providing career growth opportunities internally can boost morale and motivation among employees, showing a clear pathway for professional development.

On the other hand, hiring from the broader market brings in new perspectives, ideas, and experiences that can be vital for innovation and staying competitive. External hires can challenge the status quo, offer insights from different industries or markets, and infuse the team with diverse problem-solving approaches. This diversity in thought and experience can lead to more creative and effective product strategies.

Regardless of the source of talent, it is crucial to maintain the same hiring rigor for both internal and external candidates. This ensures that all team members, whether homegrown or sourced externally, meet the high standards expected in product management roles. Rigorous hiring practices help maintain quality, foster a culture of excellence, and ensure that the team has the right mix of skills and experiences to succeed.

You want a healthy balance of the two, and it's really going to depend on the stage of the organization and what you want to accomplish. It may be that you're trying to effect a cultural change and drive a different way of thinking, in which case optimizing for bringing in outside talent can be helpful, particularly as you're bringing in senior outside talent. The challenge with that, though, is that it can signal, rightly or wrongly, that there isn't upward mobility organically within the organization, which can be disempowering and lead to retention challenges, not to mention every time you bring somebody new, they're hitting the ground and ramping up from scratch.

So you want a balanced approach where you're promoting from within and bringing in new talent, and depending on the state of the organization, your place in the market, the quality of the product managers, and culture that you have in place, you may optimize for one side or the other, but there's no one size fits all answer.

I believe it's crucial to do both. Internal promotions are essential because they create a growth culture and clear career paths within the organization. These internal candidates bring valuable institutional knowledge about our product and business that's hard to replicate. At the same time, bringing in external talent is equally important as they inject fresh perspectives and new ideas that can help shape and evolve our organization. Rather than favoring one approach over the other, the key is finding the right balance between internal growth and external hiring to build the most effective organization possible.

Regardless of how you grow your product team, you'll need to establish a healthy culture around the product process, how you work, and the principles you run the team with. This means you have a defined process for how you work, it's clear what you expect from PMs in the team and what it takes to be promoted. In my experience, I've found the best results come by clearly articulating your product philosophy and principles and developing high-potential PMs internally while augmenting and accelerating the team with external hires that match the principles you've created.

Here are a few things to consider:

1. Growing PM competence within the organization:

• Pros: Developing talent from within the organization can be a cost-effective way to build a strong product management team. It can also foster a sense of loyalty and commitment to the company among team members.
• Cons: It may take longer to develop product management skills internally, as employees may need time to gain experience and learn from others in the organization, you must take the time to define the processes and culture you want to foster. 

2. Hiring from the broader market:

• Pros: Hiring from the broader market can allow you to bring in experienced product managers who can immediately hit the ground running and contribute to the team. It can also help to bring in new perspectives and ideas from outside the organization or seed new ways of working that you'd like your organization to adopt.
• Cons: Hiring from the broader market can be more expensive, as you may need to pay a premium for experienced talent. It can also take time for new hires to become familiar with the company's culture and processes.