What do you look for when promoting a Product Marketer from individual contributor to people manager?

Answer

7 Answers

Product Marketing Career Path

Madeline Ng

Google Global Head of Growth Go-to-market, Google Maps Platform • 6y

My first question would be to determine if this person would thrive as a people manager. Often in product marketing, the trajectory up is through individual contributor to people manager, but it's not necessarily the best path for everyone. Good reasons to want to be a people manager: You like helping people grow in their career, and you've shown that through mentoring others (even when it wasn't your job) You have shown that you are a "giver" and not a "taker" in the larger organization You ...Read More

6,223 Views
Dana Barrett

Tremendous VP of Marketing • 5y

I look for a couple of things: Can they proactively identify and solve problems? Are they coachable? Do they have a growth mindset? Are they able to drive cross functional alignment, with peers and senior stakeholders? Are they acting as a mentor and coach to others on the team and/or cross functional partners that have less experience or are struggling? When ICs demonstrate the skills above, I will often put them on the bigger and more strategic projects, or ask them to run a whole program (e ...Read More

11,919 Views
Christiana Franson

Dropbox VP, Head of Product Marketing • 4y

I touch on this a little in another question. That said, a Manager should have a solid grasp of major PMM skills alongside leadership abilities. Some attributes I look for are: Evangelism - whether promoting core value proposition or the work of the PMM team, this person should be skilled in championing the interests of customers, the market and the team. Their opinion and perspective should be influential. Diplomacy - PMM is so cross-functional (and often, the starting point for important proje ...Read More

861 Views
Lindsay Bayuk

FullStory CMO • 4y

I look to see if that person is already leading teams. A great product marketer already leads through influence. They will already lead cross-functional teams through launches or campaigns and they will already lead their team through challenges. I always look to promote someone who's already doing the work without being asked and without having the title.

709 Views
Mike Berger

Ex-VP, Product Marketing @ ClickUp, SurveyMonkey, Gainsight, Marketo | Formerly Momentive, Gainsight, Marketo • 4y
I look for a combination of:
1. Impact - have they played a significant role in driving positive business outcomes for the company
2. Skills - have they achieved a level of mastery necessary to successfully coach others
3. Leadership - have they recognized and elevated those around them, not just focused on themselves
4. Collaboration - do I hear positive feedback from others across the compnay who have interacted with them
All weighted equally to me, and all super important.
527 Views
Leandro Margulis

Prove Head of Product • 4y

For any promotion, I look for the person to already be performing at the next level, and have an interest in doing so. Not everyone wants to be a people manager. That said, if they do and they are already managing contractors, agencies, and other people are working with them from other departments, we can put a plan together to make this happen and provide any additional coaching if needed to support the person's success.

379 Views
Julien Sauvage

Clari VP, Brand, Content and Product Marketing • 4y

The ultimate test is: are you passionate about helping people grow? If not, and that's ok, then people management might not be for you. People learn and grow with new experiences. I like to nurture learning for people looking for experiences & stretch goals, with tactics like: yearly rotation, having a major/ minor project (90/10), or doiong monthly lunch n learn within the team. Another big one for me is empathy. I know a lot has been said and written about that - it's true. If you can't pu ...Read More

466 Views