The Three Archetypes of PMs
Doing product well is hard. Quickly getting better at product is hard. Interviewing well for product is hard. Evaluating product leaders is hard.
To understand one’s strengths and weaknesses as well as evaluate potential PM candidates, I use a simple framework of core PM competencies. While models and frameworks are not a true representation of reality, they move us forward and allow us to snap reality into a decision tree using partial information.
A helpful framework I've used to develop my own career, understand where different PMs are in their development plan, and match people with a good problem space is the three archetypes framework.
A Story of Three Super Skills
Every person is a complex combination of talents and experiences that evolve over time. What I’ve noticed from interacting with hundreds of PMs over the last decade is that almost everyone has the tendency to over index on specific skills and under index on others.
Furthermore, I’ve also noticed patterns emerging from the way some of these skills correlate with one another and it is this correlation that allowed me to cluster PMs into the following three types.
As a PM you are not only one of the three types, nor is the goal of this post to convince you that the best outcome is to be great at all three. It is intended to be an observation and hopefully a framework that helps you find your next growth opportunity and mentorship.
Let’s dive in!
The Scientist
The science-driven PM works through numbers, experiments and data to achieve a complete understanding of user needs, market standing and prioritization. The scientist knows their way around SQL and digs into the data tables in their first week on the job. They challenge their analytics partners and can do their own analysis.
This PM archetype is the most self-sufficient and can easily create something from nothing just by observing the data in the right way and cleaning up the noise themselves.
Sometimes but not always, I have found that scientists lack user empathy and an ability to take risks in a totally unknown environment. Based on my experience, scientists work best within a fairly well-defined problem statement or area and are great at executing a low to medium risk project.
The General Manager
The general manager PM lives and breathes Jira, Trello, Monday.com or Google sheets. Their core competency is bringing order into chaos; they shine when a project requires management of multiple stakeholders and has complex dependencies. One could count on the general manager PMs to know exactly where the project is, what is required to get to the next level, and what can be accelerated given incremental headcount.
As general managers gain seniority, they draw on their ability to coordinate complex areas and are able to be very effective in driving large scale projects with multiple levels of complexity.
If not kept in check, general managers may sometimes over index on processes and drive more creative PMs away due to the cost of interacting with such leaders.
The Artist
Artists drive product roadmap through intuitive understanding of users, markets and opportunities. Good artists are extremely hard to find. As junior PMs, they tend to come up with roadmap items that may seem random or too risky. They may also lack the required communication skills to effectively influence stakeholders.
Great artists see around corners and are able to imagine a future that many others don’t see or fail to understand the speed in which such a future will materialize.
As more mature leaders, artists tend to be good storytellers but, if not kept in check, may end up losing credibility by failing to double-check their assumptions with available data.
Artists thrive on zero to one problems but, in many cases, require support to frame problems correctly, reduce scope, and keep the roadmap clear and sharp.
How To Use The Framework?
Now that we’ve defined the three types, how can one use this framework to improve her career? While I cannot give a concrete answer that will help everyone in every case, I can provide an insight into my own journey.
From my early days at LinkedIn and through my time at Lyft, I have seen myself heavily over indexing on the Artist and the Scientist while lacking much rigor on being a better General Manager.
Early on I learned that being a junior PM who dreams big in a large company isn’t a great position to be in. I had little influence and little credibility. I also learned that being managed by a product leader who was exceptional in his general management approach was super tough; I just could not bring myself to fill out spreadsheets to track progress on a daily basis.
Once I identified these two issues, I acted quickly to mitigate them:
I moved to a different team under a manager who was more in tune with how I viewed the world. One that gave me the freedom to hone my core strengths while still demanding constant improvements on the general management skills.
I invested heavily in growing my Scientist skill set so that I can compete well and advance my career faster, hoping that once senior enough, I could go back to being more of an Artist.
As a more senior product leader I had to make a call. Do I invest in being a much better general manager or continue to invest in the other two areas at the expense of being a well-rounded leader? I decided that I did not want to be average across all three and chose the latter. Instead, I decided to hire people that complement my deficiencies. I hired and still hire people who are not only smarter than I am, but also work well with my shortcomings. Together, we make an effective team.
Looking back, how well has this career decision worked out for me? Was it the “right” choice for everyone? I don’t know. But I do feel it was the right choice for me.
Because I decided to pursue the path of specialization, I need a stronger team around me to bring out my, and the team’s, best. In exchange, I am able to teach others the skills that I’ve developed as a Scientist, share lessons learned as a General Manager, and identify and nurture budding Artists. I am also able to provide them with a similar choice for their career and support them in their journey to grow into one or more of these archetypes.
I highly encourage you to look deep within and explore what makes you happy and effective. There is no one path here and strong product leaders come in all shapes and forms. Find the one that brings joy to your life and go build new and exciting things!