When joining a new team, is it better to have the right soft skills and have to learn the hard skills of the job or vice versa?

Question

Marcus Andrews · Accepted Answer

It certainly depends but I'd say it's more important to have the right soft skills. Specifically for product marketing teams. What PMMs do can really vary company to company. So while it's likely your hard skills will at least "sort of" transfer, there is no gaurentee.

So, communication, flexibility, hunger, transpartnecy, honesty, curiousity, etc. Those are the skills you'll be leaning on for a while till you figure out how to apply your hard skills.

Also the more senior you get the more I like it flips. If you're brand new to PMM you have to be really strong on soft skills, more sr. stronger in hard skills.

Eric Chang · Answer

If I had to choose one I would (slightly) lean towards soft skills. Having the right soft skills is what I believe enables a PMM to find the biggest opportunities and drive buy-in/alignment so that they can have the most impact. That being said, the main variable that would make me prioritize hard skills or soft skills is the level of ambiguity that you'll have to deal with on that new team.

Contrasting two extreme examples:

If you join a large team, with a mature product marketing function, for a highly technical/specific product in an established category, with a clearly scoped role, and have many resources/product experts around you that can help you onboard - then I would say that having the right hard skills will allow you to more quickly deliver value in your new role. You have clear sources of information to build positioning and messaging, established data/insights to look at, teammates that you can ask questions + get answers from, your scope is likely narrow, etc. and can get straight to work.

If you join a 2 year-old rapid growth 150 person company, growing 400% y/y, with a brand new product marketing function, for a new/disruptive product, the company doesn't really know what product marketing does, and the roles & responsibilities of different functions are hazy - then I would say soft skills are more important. You'll need every ounce of adaptability, communication, problem solving, and organization you have in you.

Of course roles will typically fall somewhere in the middle of these two examples. You can also take a look at my answer for the question "What are the required vs nice to have hard and soft skills for PMM roles in big SaaS companies compared to hard and soft skills for PMM roles in small start-ups/scale-ups in the tech space?" to see more of my thoughts around this.

Jane Reynolds · Answer

I find that people with strong soft skills often have the ability to pick up the hard skills quickly. People who’ve honed their soft skills are proactive about asking the right questions, and are motivated to sharpen any hard skills that may be lacking, or need improvement. In basically any role that involves collaboration and teamwork (and which roles don’t?), the soft skills are most important for getting internal buy-in, planning a go-to-market strategy, and adjusting seamlessly when any issues arise. Of course basic hard skills in the area you’re applying for are required, but I focus on a candidate’s soft skills when assessing their fit for a role.

Valerie Angelkos · Answer

I think it depends ultimately on what the team needs. In a highly technical area, I'd value industry and product knowledge highly, as long as the person is then coachable and open to learn on other areas within the PMM world. In a not so technical area, I'd prioritize PMM skillsets over other areas. Soft skills should be part of the package either way, aligned with the value of your team and company.

Ultimately the goal is to find the right balance and bring different perspectives so the team can learn from each other as well.

Liz Tassey (she/her) · Answer

I think it's a balance, but if I had to choose, leaning in to those soft skills is a great strategy when you are starting out.

It's really important to go into a new team / company with a really strong growth mindset and a relationship building / collaboration ethos. Be curious, meet with your key stakeholders to really understand how PMM can be a good partner, learn about the business and what's working / what's not (this will lean in on data/business acumen for sure), learn the customer and the product, and start to build a view of where the business could best use your help. (To be clear, this type approach should be continued throughout your tenure, not just when you start. It's easy to fall into the "heads down, get the work done" as you get established, but continuing to connect with your stakeholders with a growth mindset approach, and building those relationships is a core part of the job, no matter how long in role).

Then, as you start to build an informed picture of the landscape and where PMM can lean in and help, you can start identifying the quick wins to gain credibility, drive impact and build momentum. And this is where maybe some of your harder skills will come in E.g using data to help prioritize what to focus on first (as you'll likely get lots of asks from everyone during your listening tour!) and set goals/ KPIs for those quick wins you will pursue, so you can measure impact.

Robert McGrath · Answer

A lot depends on the type of role. In general hard skills is where a lot of hiring managers would edge towards as it ensures the technicality of the role can be carried out. Soft skills are also vitally important and shouldn't be ignored. For soft skills, in a cross-functional role, it's virtually important but is also an area, with the support of a good manager, can be coached and developed.

Abdul Rastagar · Answer

The ideal candidate will have both but that’s often not possible. For me personally, I think the soft skills are far more important. Especially at the more junior and even mid-management levels, the hard skills can be taught. The soft skills are much more difficult to teach.

As an executive, you should really be proficient in both.

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