I often hear that a big part of being a good PMM is having an "executive presence" and being a top-notch communication. As an introvert, I find this very intimidating—I love product marketing but feel like the odds are stacked against me. Any advice? Is it possible to be introverted and a good PMM?
1 Answer
I am an extrovert so I will share my observations.
I have managed introverts on my team and they were excellent PMMs. They were super methodical, analytical and thorough. I truly valued what they brought to the team dynamic. Part of being a great manager is being able to assess people’s strengths and interests, and amplify their potential by placing them in the right role or giving them projects that would make them stand out. As PMMs, we need to be able to have great written and verbal communication because we bring together so many workstreams and have so many collaborators and stakeholders but you do not need to be the one always in front of execs or presenting at large events to be successful as a PMM.
697 Views
Related Ask Me Anything Sessions
Customer.io Chief Marketing Officer, Jason Lyman on Developing Your Product Marketing Career
Google Marketing Head for YouTube & Android Spanish LATAM, Martin Raygoza on Product Marketing Career Path
Zendesk Senior Director, Product Marketing, Candace Marshall on Product Marketing Career Path
Top Product Marketing Mentors
Mary Sheehan
Adobe Head of Lightroom Product Marketing
Axel Kirstetter
Guidewire Software VP Product Marketing
Leah Brite
Gusto Head of Product Marketing, Employers
Jon Rooney
Unity Vice President Product Marketing
Katie Gerard
Workhuman Head of Product Marketing
Sahil Sethi
Freshworks Vice President - Global Product Marketing
Madeline Ng
Google Global Head of Marketing, Google Maps Platform
Julien Sauvage
Clari VP, Brand, Content and Product Marketing
Kevin Garcia
Anthropic Product Marketing Leader
Amanda Groves
Enable VP of Product Marketing
Related Questions
While looking at next level roles, how do you overcome hiring bias for the same domain. Your career history is what it is. Very few, if any, hiring managers are willing to look at the broad horizontal PMM skills that a candidate brings to the table. What would you rec highlighting in prod mar portfolio and what would make a candidate stand out to you?What type of skillsets and experiences do I need to build in order to strengthen my career and move from being a Sr. PMM to Director level and above? What type of leadership career tracks do you see people continue their careers?How do you perform extensive competitive product research?What do you look for when someone on your team wants to make the move from an individual contributor to a people manager? What level of hard/technical skills should someone aim to develop to thrive in product marketing?