38: How Leading by Influence Makes a Great Product Manager

In this episode of the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, marketing professor Jeff Shulman and The Product Management Center advisory board members Red Russak and Soumeya Benghanem welcome KJ Famulegun to talk about leadership through influence. Authority is often the power that is used by leaders to manage a team, an organization, or a business in its entirety. Yet, the most effective leaders are seen to focus more on leading by example and inspiring others to be productive in what they do and be a team player that aids in the success of any product.

Support for How to Succeed in Product Management is brought to you by Apptentive, which enables product managers to measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across the mobile customer journey. To learn more, go to Apptentive.com/UW.

What to Listen For:

• 00:00 Intro
• 05:36 What does leading by influence mean?
• 09:46 What can you do to strengthen your influence muscle?
• 22:43 PMs often work with tension and discovering a path ahead
• 26:00 The association between manager and management
• 30:34 Leading and influencing without authority
• 36:16 Build trust and then show competence
• 39:57 Managing PM network and community
• 47:53 The best PMs create community within their team