The Divide That Wasn’t There: Management Lessons Across Product and Engineering

The relationship between product and engineering is crucial to what we do, but communicating effectively across these disciplines can be a significant cause of anxiety. “How technical does a PM need to be?” is the number one question I face from aspiring or junior PMs. Complaints from engineers are hardly unusual either, often referencing a “lack of clarity” or “unrealistic expectations” from the PMs in their team.

In this talk, I will share what I’ve learned from dual carding as both a Product Manager and Engineering Manager: what we have in common, what we can learn from each other, and why challenging this divide is critical to sustained success.