If there’s one common mosquito biting all product managers in tech, it’s the imposter syndrome that plagues all of us.

If you ask any PM (product manager) in the tech industry — no matter what company or product, chances are that they’ll agree that imposter syndrome is real. We could honestly just dub it the “PM Imposter Syndrome”: the condition of feeling anxious or internally unsuccessful due to any lack of “building the product” within a product team, even if the team itself is successful.

I will call out that this tends to happen more frequently in larger tech teams, and perhaps lesser in lean start-ups, since start-up PMs may probably work on tasks that do achieve immediate value.

So why do we feel this way?

Engineers code. Designers design. Neither of which are what PMs usually do to help build the product. We don’t exactly “build.”

Not much needs to be said about why imposter syndrome is real. Yes we have our own tasks: writing requirement docs and stories, drawing wireframes, creating and triaging tickets, market researching, determining product strategies, and driving cross-functional meetings to get work done.

But none have their own visible “value.” In fact, most if not all of our tasks have no immediate value or tangible worth. Ironically, this doesn’t change the fact that PMs will almost always be occupied and stressed with their work. There will always be pressure from higher-ups to ship and achieve business objectives. If the product doesn’t meet expectations, PMs are the front line taking the blame.

This begs the question: Why do PMs feel like they’re doing nothing despite being held responsible?

The answer (from my experience) lies within the nature of the role itself. We still help triage and prioritize the work needed to achieve objectives and make the product experience better. Additionally, if there’s anyone who’s responsible for discovering the next viable problem to solve, it’s also us. Many of these tasks don’t affect the process of product development directly, so of course it feels like we’re doing nothing. Yet, because we’re still responsible for answering the “why do we need this” for the team, PMs are the face of the product and should take the blame if things go south.

How can we beat imposter syndrome?

There are 4 ways you can both mentally and realistically beat it:

1. Bring clarity to your own work first. As a PM in your team, jot down the main areas of the company or product which you help “own.” Basically, which features or scenarios are you a PM for? Next, describe the business objectives (in both qualitative and quantitative forms if possible) for each of your areas which you must help achieve. Now, tell yourself that your team members wouldn’t be able to achieve those said objectives without you by their side. Bring these areas to your boss and ask them how you can better link your business objectives to your work to beat imposter syndrome. Don’t be shy —remember that they’ve also been in your shoes before.
2. Start writing more curated content for everyone. One interesting trick I learned at Microsoft is that it can be pretty easy to produce content related to your industry or product. Start a newsletter for external or internal customers, write blogs that highlight product releases or customer feedback, or even consolidate info across teams in weekly Slack/Teams updates. Producing and sharing content makes it feel more like you’re “creating” something of value, just like building a product.
3. Don’t be scared to be more “outward” facing. Talking to customers and collecting their valuable feedback is a fantastic way to beat imposter syndrome, since you’re collecting indispensable information about your product which could improve revenue or engagement by x-fold. As you gain more experience in product management, you’ll learn new tricks when performing discovery work and feedback collection, making you as an employee more valuable as well for both your knowledge AND your experience.
4. Ask a coworker if they felt your impact. Don’t be afraid — the stigma of “PMs not doing anything” is long gone. From my experience, coworkers give thoughtful answers, and can pinpoint exact parts where they feel like you’re delivering impact. If not, this is the perfect time to collect feedback on yourself as a PM.

Let’s beat imposter syndrome together.

About Me

My name is Kasey, AKA J.X. Fu (pen name). I’m passionate about (you guessed it) writing.

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