Five Typical Mistakes of a Fresh Product Manager
How to Avoid the Classic Newbie Mistakes in Product Management
In this post, I want to share some of the common mistakes I made when I first started working as a product manager. Mistakes happen to everyone, but these particular ones can be especially damaging if you don't recognize and address them early on. They can make you feel incompetent, erode your self-confidence, damage relationships with your team, and ultimately put your dream job at risk.
🤥 Mistake #1: Thinking You Know It All
It's easy to fall into the "god feel" trap when you become a product manager. You're leading the charge, so you must know everything, right? Wrong! This mindset stops you from investing the time to truly understand the product you're managing. You need to be the SME, the one with the answers – and if you don't dig for them, you'll quickly lose credibility.
Yes, it takes time to master a product, but build a solid foundation from day one. Be relentlessly curious. Don't be afraid to ask a million questions, especially early on – your team will be happy to help. Start with the core use cases and gradually expand your knowledge.
Here are some great places to start:
Product videos: Get the quick business overview.
Product documentation: It might be dry, but it's packed with in-depth knowledge.
Support team: Your goldmine for real-world product insights and customer questions.
Customers: Talk to them directly (but be prepared for honest feedback!).
Developers: They can explain the nuts and bolts of how specific features work.
🫤 Mistake #2: Bad Prioritization
Picture this: as a fresh product manager, your to-do list explodes. Features to build, bugs to fix, sales screaming for demos, executives wanting updates... suddenly, you catch yourself procrastinating for several days in fear of the amount of work.
Without a solid prioritization strategy, you'll drop the ball (and possibly get burned in the process). Frameworks like the Eisenhower Matrix are your safety net, helping you decide what's urgent vs. important. But the real magic trick is making sure every task you prioritize climbs the ladder towards those big, overarching company goals. Otherwise, you're just a busy worker, not a strategic product manager.
👎 Mistake #3: Failure to Build Alliances
In my opinion, this mistake can have the most ruinous consequences. When you start working as a PM, you must understand that this position is political and requires you to understand the behind-the-scenes life of the company and its decision-makers. Forget about just doing your job well. This is simply not enough to succeed in the corporate environment; you'll need strong interpersonal communication skills.
A good product manager knows everything about their superiors and closest horizontal relationships (for example, the Head of Support or CMO). Networking together, inviting them for lunch, and seeking common shared hobbies become part of an everyday routine.
Also, I have noticed that employees who create a constant buzz around themselves and demonstrate high levels of activity, even if it leads to negative results or damages the company, have more chances to climb the career ladder. We live in a world where smart people are often valued less than opportunists.
If the political game makes you uncomfortable, the “Magic Loop” technique by Ethan Evans offers a way forward:
These simple steps will help you build great relationships with your manager and systematically grow at your company.
🤐 Mistake #4: Insufficient Communication of Results to Senior Management
Don't fall into the trap of assuming your manager knows how amazing you are. Senior management is busy. Proactively seek clarification on their specific expectations and how they will evaluate your performance.
Establish a routine for regular feedback sessions, demonstrating initiative in keeping your superiors informed. Develop the skill of crafting concise reports that highlight key metrics and explain their significance to the company's goals.
Additionally, master email communication and appropriate use of instant messaging to provide timely updates and demonstrate your responsiveness.
Don’t be shy. Prefer using of I have done… instead of we have done. Your success is solely in your hands.
⛔️ Mistake #5: The Fear of Saying "No"
As a product manager, you'll be overwhelmed with requests – a big client demanding a special feature, sales sweating that they can't close without that thing, the CTO wanting technical debt fixed... the list never ends. It's easy to fall into the trap and become a “Yes” machine. Saying “No” is a superpower for successful product management – but you can't just drop the 'no' and walk away. You need to back it up with solid reasoning.
To do this (reasoning), master a feature prioritization framework and make it your best friend. Explain it to everyone. Prioritized features become your shield, giving you a clear, defensible answer when anyone demands the impossible.
Here are a few well known frameworks to choose from:
MoSCoW: Classic for a reason. Breaks down features into Must-Have, Should-Have, Could-Have, and Won't Have (This Time), creating a shared understanding of urgency.
RICE (My personal fave too): Perfect if you love data. Scores features based on Reach, Impact, Confidence, and Effort, helping you objectively choose the highest potential wins.
Kano: Understand what truly delights users vs. basic expectations. Helps you focus on the features that will truly drive customer satisfaction.
Explore, adapt, and find the framework(s) that work best for your product and team.
If I learned these lessons the hard way, hopefully, you can get a head start! Think of this post as your survival guide for those chaotic first months in your product management career. Just remember, even when you feel like you're juggling flaming chainsaws, there's a path to success – and you've got the potential to walk it.