I recently read a book titled “Do What You Are” (by Tieger and Barron-Tieger) and it made me think: what kind of personality makes a good product manager?
Myers-Briggs define people by four dimensions of personality:
· How we interact with the world and where we direct our energy
(E) Extroversion ------Introversion (I)
· The kind of information we naturally notice
(S) Sensing----------------Intuition (N)
· How we make decisions (T) Thinking------------------Feeling (F)
· Structured/Making decisions or Spontaneous/taking in information
(J) Judging---------------Perceiving (P)
I have observed that most product managers are either ENTJ or ENTP and here is why:
As a product manager being an extrovert is a must—you need to be able to interact with customers, peers, and management, and that means putting yourself out there.
Intuition means trusting inspiration, leading new ideas & concepts and being imaginative. Intuitive types are oriented toward the future—another key attribute.
Thinkers are logical, tend to be critical and are motivated by achievements. They make decisions based on analysis and consider it more important to be truthful than tactful.
The other dimensions are where this gets a little fuzzy.
Are you better off making decisions upfront based on info you have (J) or should you leave some options open to change (P)?
Are you product oriented (J) or process oriented (P)?
Do you set goals and work towards achieving them on time (J) or do you change goals as new information becomes available (P)?
Circumstances often lead us to behave in certain ways, particularly at work where decisions need to be made.
The bottom line is regardless of your personality type, you are the customer advocate and the product champion. Remember to use your personality to your advantage to connect with customers and colleagues alike.
Myers-Briggs define people by four dimensions of personality:
· How we interact with the world and where we direct our energy
(E) Extroversion ------Introversion (I)
· The kind of information we naturally notice
(S) Sensing----------------Intuition (N)
· How we make decisions (T) Thinking------------------Feeling (F)
· Structured/Making decisions or Spontaneous/taking in information
(J) Judging---------------Perceiving (P)
I have observed that most product managers are either ENTJ or ENTP and here is why:
As a product manager being an extrovert is a must—you need to be able to interact with customers, peers, and management, and that means putting yourself out there.
Intuition means trusting inspiration, leading new ideas & concepts and being imaginative. Intuitive types are oriented toward the future—another key attribute.
Thinkers are logical, tend to be critical and are motivated by achievements. They make decisions based on analysis and consider it more important to be truthful than tactful.
The other dimensions are where this gets a little fuzzy.
Are you better off making decisions upfront based on info you have (J) or should you leave some options open to change (P)?
Are you product oriented (J) or process oriented (P)?
Do you set goals and work towards achieving them on time (J) or do you change goals as new information becomes available (P)?
Circumstances often lead us to behave in certain ways, particularly at work where decisions need to be made.
The bottom line is regardless of your personality type, you are the customer advocate and the product champion. Remember to use your personality to your advantage to connect with customers and colleagues alike.
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