Advice to a new TPM? What are some common mistakes new TPMs make?

I talked about my take on desirable qualities in one of my previous responses, so I’ll focus on the common mistakes I’ve personally made in my career in the past, that hopefully will help others avoid those pitfalls.

• Mistaking motion/effort for progress (This is also one of Meta’s posters on the wall in our campuses)
• Rushing to prove my value (whenever I switched roles or teams).
• Not being able to articulate the “So what” well. Eg: I’ve launched this shiny new feature, so what?
• Assuming everyone has the context (and motivations) that I have
• Assuming everyone understands how I communicate (and my jargons)
• Not stepping up soon enough to grab a new opportunity a.k.a feeling scared
• Asking for permission
• Getting comfortable in a role; growth & learning plateaus

Based on my experience, here are some common mistakes I've seen new TPMs make:

1. Focusing too much on features and not enough on customer needs: It's easy to get caught up in building new features, but it's important to remember that the features you build should ultimately solve customer problems.
2. Not prioritizing effectively: New TPMs may struggle with prioritizing effectively, leading to delays or features that don't deliver the desired impact.
3. Lack of communication: Not communicating effectively with your team and stakeholders can lead to misunderstandings, missed deadlines, and other issues.
4. Micromanaging: It's important to trust your team to do their jobs and avoid micromanaging their work.

Many common mistakes stem from haste without deep knowledge and mindless GSDing.

• Not thinking through the problem statement fully or not knowing enough about the domain and becoming married to 1 solution - often yours.
• Taking it personally when told that something is missing from your solution
• Resisting talking to users or stakeholders who are likely to disagree with the solution you have picked
• Picking a solution because an exec imagined it is the right one is not necessarily the right thing either
• Picking a solution because eng said so and it is just a little beyond your technical understanding is also not necessarily the right answer. Ask questions, don't be afraid of being a little persistent - it's an opportunity to learn
•  "Staging a coup" and pushing a radical new direction without knowing enough and thinking everybody else is stupid