How do you decide if you should follow the IC PM path or the people leader PM path?

Honestly, for me it has always come down to three things: what do I want to learn right now, where is the work most interesting, and where can I make the most impact? Over time, you also start to learn where you are happiest. Where is your mojo? Some people find that answer shifts. Some have a clear instinct early on. My own path has zigzagged, and each move taught me something. My first shift from IC to manager was not really a choice. The startup was growing, I was a founding member, and I kne ...Read More

I think the most important thing when you're trying to decide your career path or a path in Product Management is to really understand two things 1) is what are the paths and what are different about each? What are their unique strengths? What are their unique qualities? What are the unique things that you would do in each that are different from one another? For example, the IC PM path means that you are more directly solving problems with UX, engineering and other partners. It affords the abil ...Read More

The great news is that you don't typically need to make this decision early in your career; you can gradually explore both paths to determine which suits you best. The split between an Individual Contributor (IC) Product Manager and a People Leader PM usually occurs at the Product Lead or Group PM level. As a high-performing Senior PM, you might have the opportunity to take on a slightly larger scope related to your area, which could include managing one or two direct reports. Many companies fac ...Read More

Different folks would enjoy different things e.g. if you are an introvert -- the IC track might be more suitable as you will be spending a good chunk of your time creating docs, prototypes, etc. It's fun -- just a different kind of fun. If your personality craves people interactions, the people leader track might be more appropriate.  Being a good people manager is hard, you need to lead by example and support your team whenever they need you. You also need to be comfortable with confronting peo ...Read More

Understand if your skills and interest align with the path: IC: Become a topic expert, typically going deep in more technical topics e.g. you really love doing SEOs or healthcare billing. You like to work more independently, actively driving implementation, staying much closer to engineering a solution. You are not shy to take multiple technical courses to become an expert in an area. People Manager: You know enough about a variety of topics to guide the work of someone else, ask the right quest ...Read More