You're a CEO: Gross overstatement except for senior PM roles. The majority of PM jobs involve ... little meaningful control over resourcing, zero actual reporting authority over anyone, nor much, if any, say in the budgeting process. But in terms of responsibility, the buck stops with you. If the product fails, it is your fault.

You’re a coach: Coaches understand that teams are composed of people and the interpersonal relationships between each member determine to a large extent the effectiveness of the team, what it is capable of producing as a unit. PMs too must inspire, motivate and convince their team to fight for Every Single Inch.

But an orientation toward storytelling and vision can sometimes cause challenges with execution : The only new product launch that succeeded was Airbnb.com. Every other big launch over the last eight years has actually been a complete flop.

You’re a janitor: You do as much of the dirty work as possible so everyone else doesn’t have to (so the team operates more efficiently)

5. Make Team Management Your Highest Priority Product: To be a good product team manager, you need to have been a successful product manager first. "As a group product manager, my job is to help PMs own their ideas, work with stakeholders, get people on board and amplify their insights. Our product managers are my products."

Your team dynamic is something you can always affect, even if you have no meaningful influence over the major strategic decisions of an organization.

I do want to hit mainstream, and I will, but I think I'm more excited about what we’re doing here because it's new soil. We're really planting the seeds of a garden that's gonna prosper.

You’re a ghost: You know when to disappear (it's possible to over-PM).

6. Always Be Grooming New Leaders: Articulate the mission early in candidate interviews. Hire listeners that display intellectual curiosity. Offer high-performing PMs opportunities to onboard others.