Describe the best PMM team you've been part of, and what aspects made it stand out from the rest. What are some things we could actively employ to our own teams to make it the best PMM team they've been part of?

Trick question! All my teams have been equally fantastic and I love them all the same.

BUT I would say that one thing I focus on is trying to develop PMM teams that know how to collaborate. There's a lot of focus on "coverage" and areas of ownership -- but in all my teams I've forced matrices and collaboration and sometimes it's been hard but in all cases I've been proud of the way the team grows when they work together and learn to lean on each other.

I’ve been lucky to have been part of amazing PMM teams at Microsoft, CTP, Qualtrics, Klaviyo and new Betterup. Hard to draw comparisons but my favorite PMM team was during my early years at Microsoft when I was an individual contributor

Here are some reasons that made it special, which you can apply to your teams as well

•  Clarity of work - We were clear about what each of us were doing, definition of success, key stakeholders and how each one of us was building on each other’s work
•  Trust - This team trusted each other completely. We practiced vulnerabillity and knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses. When it came to being a thought partner on a difficult problem , or picking up extra work for a week, or coaching for dealing with a tough coworker - this group never shied away from supporting a mate in need
•  Diversity - This group was pretty diverse - not just in gender/race but also in diversity of thought and opinions. This was a motley crew of 5 and we came from all over the world. One started their career in sales, one in program management, one as a technologist and one as a strategist. We built on top of each other’s ideas and the end result was always better than where we started
•  A great manager - we had a manager who always had our back. He knew us well, cared deeply for our emotions (and ambitions) and helped us grow with direct, gentle coaching and the gift of feedback

I've worked with many PMM teams at Square, and the best ones put the customer experience front and center. PMM teams are organized in different ways -- by product, channel, stage in funnel, or customer segment. This can lead to individual PMMs optimizing for their own KPIs, creating a disjointed customer experience. The best PMM teams will think about the seams between products and the entire lifecycle of the customer.

I'd encourage PMM teams to map the customer journey. For example, what does a prospect see when they enter from different channels? What ongoing messages do they see when they go through the product experience? Finding gaps in the customer experience will ensure you are telling a cohesive narrative.