What are some key skill sets for a product manager?

Product Management is a bit hard to list skills for because product managers wear so many different hats and each company has a different way on how they think of product management. But I do think there are some broad skills that PMs should have or build as they think of their career. 

1. Hustle - This is the number 1 skill that I look for. If you have this everything else follows or can be built.
2. Empathy - Understanding your customer and being able to put yourselves in their shoes
3. Storytelling - Communication is key for product managers but I think its super important to be able to tell effective stories/narratives. 
4. Prioritization - As a PM you need to make prioritization decisions everyday. Its key to have a good framework on how you are making those decisions and clearly socializing the framework as well as the decisions with your stakeholders and partners

I think the answer here varies depending on what level of the PM ladder youre in. But, if I were to list down the key pillars, Id say:

1. communication skills - A PM must articulate vision, strategy, and rationale in a compelling way to inspire and align teams so that everyone is aware of what theyre doing with no issues.

2. Prioritization 2.0 - Let me explain. The traditional approach to prioritization often revolves around short-term gains or stakeholder pressures. A forward-thinking PM should prioritize with a long-term vision, balancing immediate needs with future growth and innovation. Sometimes, this means making unpopular decisions that may not show immediate results but are crucial for the product’s future (youre a visionary!)

3. Strategic - Some might argue that PMs should focus on execution, but without strategic vision, execution can become directionless. It’s not enough to manage what’s in front of you; you need to lead your product into the future. If you have no vision or strategy, then youre a project manager, not a PM.

4. A bit of technical knowledge wont hurt - Not all PM should be coders because we have other stuff to work on. But to avoid product delays and clashes with the dev/eng teams, knowing the basics is beneficial (I took a JS on Udemy and Im glad I did for many reasons). Adjacent to this note is to involve data in your decision-making so you know what to do vs avoid.

5. Adaptable - Im pulling the trigger on myself here but we tend to think about the end goals more often. A good skill is to learn when to adjust and accept the new changes that may come up.