The Venn Diagram of PM Skills

One of the most interesting things about the Product Manager role is how different it can be from company to company. At some companies the PMs are responsible for interaction design and building prototypes. At other companies the PMs give frequent roadmap presentations to customers. Some places the PM does all of the project management, and other places that will be someone else’s responsibility.

There are all kinds of PMs, and they each require different skills, backgrounds, and strengths. You don’t need to have every PM skill to be a successful PM!

So let’s take a look at the skills that can help you be a great PM. Generally companies want PMs who are smart and get things done. Another way of looking at this is that they want people who can help design a great product, and then do what it takes to ship that product.

Take a look at the skills to see which ones are your strengths, and which ones you’d like to build.

For more tips on how to build the skills you’re missing, check out the slides from my talk Different Skills = Different Strengths as a PM: How to Succeed as a PM with your Unique Skills.

Originally published at pmblog.quora.com.