How do you know the skillset you need to get promoted? Context matters, but I put together what I evaluate and what I use to coach PMs and Leaders.

Area Skill Associate Product Manager Product Manager Senior Product Manager Team Lead
Leadership Decision-making Make operational decisions but needs support with strategic ones Connect daily decisions to strategy and use data when available to pick the best option Don't hesitate to make decisions, focus on progress and learning Can coach team members to evolve into decision-making
Leadership Setting Goals Unable to set high-level goals Can set high-level goals but needs support from more experienced people Clearly see the big picture and set high-level goals Set goals that allow teams to focus on what matters most to customers and business
Leadership Situational leadership Unable to adapt to different leadership styles Is aware of different leadership styles and can switch when needed Master different leadership styles and alternate as often as needed while making it clear to the team Fluent in situational leadership and can coach team members to grow
Leadership Lead by context Struggle to set the right context, leads by activities Bring the context to the team while collaborating closely to make the right decisions Always start with the context, and empower the team to make decisions Set the global context and continuously exchange with team members to understand if the context is correctly followed
Leadership Set agreements Can set agreements with the help of other team members Set agreements while holding the team accountable Strive for commitment and set crystal clear agreements with teams and stakeholders Help teams set valuable agreements and hold them accountable for that
Leadership Mentoring Unable to mentor Can help team members grow into the foundations of product management Can help team members apply and grow with solid product management Able to mentor stakeholders, team members, and leadership to apply sound product management
Leadership Facilitation Basic facilitation skills Can confidently run sessions with different audiences Can run engaging sessions with different audiences Can mentor team members to grow into facilitation
Communication Asking powerful questions Struggle to ask powerful questions, focus on common ones Understand the importance of asking questions, and continuously ask questions to understand the why behind what and how Ask questions that encourage people to reflect and challenge themselves. Know how to influence people with questions Use the benefit of questions to gain buy-in from leadership. Can mentor people to ask powerful questions
Communication Provide feedback Can provide feedback but may mix observation with interpretation Provide valuable feedback but may refrain when it's critical Provide valuable feedback on point and during the situation. Unafraid of giving critical feedback Fluent in giving feedback and mentoring team members
Communication Receive feedback Struggle to receive critical feedback Receive feedback as a means to grow, but may be resistant to critical feedback Glad to receive feedback, strive for understanding, and welcome critical observations Fluent in receiving feedback and mentoring team members
Communication Listening skills Learning to listen actively Strive for understanding and ask clarifying questions First, try to understand, then to be understood Active listener and help others become better listeners
Communication Communication flexibility Struggle to use different communication mediums, e.g., written, verbal Mindfully choose a better fitting communication medium according to the message to convey Understand the difference between different mediums and can help team members benefit from it Clear and sharp communication no matter the medium selected
Communication Adapting according to the audience Tend to communicate the same way with everyone Adapt the communication style according to the audience Help team members evolve communication and train them how to get the message across Fully flexible with communication and know how to communicate with different audiences
Communication Ability say no when needed Struggle to say no, and needs support for that Can remain focused on the goal and say no to whatever distracts from achieving goals Help stakeholders and team members say no to themselves when goals are endangered Can mentor team members to say no and help others say no to themselves
Communication Getting to the point Tend to be wordy and struggle to get to the point Sometimes, get to the point straight away, but sometimes, struggle to get to the point Convey complex messages in a simple way Clear and sound communication, others can follow and understand the message
Teamwork Collaboration Behave as a reliable team member Reliable and contribute to a positive atmosphere in the team Can help team members strengthen collaboration Reliable, supportive, and contributes to an open atmosphere
Teamwork Handling conflicts Struggle with conflicts and need support to solve them Can name conflicts and solve them but may struggle to overcome conflicts when they escalate Can solve conflicts and help others do the same. Also, deal well with escalations Can solve conflicts, help others, and mentor how to deal with conflicts
Teamwork Building relationships Can sustain relationships well Can build relationships based on trust and work quality Can develop strong relationships with stakeholders and team members Can develop relationships and help others solve eventual conflicts
Teamwork Influence Low influence on stakeholders and team members Can influence stakeholders and team members on a more tactical level and less on strategic topics Can influence on strategic and tactical levels Helps others learn how to influence key stakeholders and team members
Product Management Product thinking Understand the importance of the product, its outcome, and its goals Can bring product thinking to daily activities Can help others understand the differences between project and product thinking Can coach high-level stakeholders on the opportunities behind product thinking and how to benefit from them
Product Management Product strategy Can follow and understand product strategy Understand the importance of product strategy, and use it in daily activities Can challenge the relevance of product strategy and craft a valuable one Craft valuable product strategies that empower teams to make decisions on their daily work
Product Management Setting desired outcomes Understand outcomes and can follow, but needs help setting them Can set desired outcomes and focus on them Can set desired outcomes and help team members and stakeholders understand them Can mentor team members on focusing on outcomes over output and how to set achievable outcomes
Product Management Learning Mindset Understand the importance of small failures and is open to learning from it Strives to learn from real users and doesn't stick with outdated assumptions Can challenge others when they stick with opinions instead of gathering evidence Foster a psychologically safe environment and encourage everyone to learn from mistakes and share them with each other
Product Management Business Models Understand how to read and interpret different business models Can create standard business models for products and see how initiatives impact it Skilled with different business models and deeply understand business dynamics Can coach team members how to create and benefit from business models
Product Management Crafting value propositions Understand how to read and process value propositions Can craft value propositions and connect current initiatives to it Can challenge initiatives on how that contributes to the value proposition and uncover alternatives to creating value faster Can coach team members on how to benefit from value propositions and create meaningful ones
Product Management Stakeholder management Can map stakeholders, understand their interests, and influence the product Can build trust with stakeholders and keep them aligned on current and future challenges Establish solid partnerships with stakeholders and reach commitment and alignment on initiatives Establish alignment with high-level stakeholders and help teams deal with escalations and conflicts
Product Management Prioritization Can prioritize work but needs help to ensure clear direction Confidently prioritize work aligned with the goals Understand multiple prioritization techniques and find the right one for each scenario Can help teams uncover prioritization challenges and mentor them on how to improve their skills with it
Product Management Uncovering problems worthy of solving Needs support to validate the value behind solving problems Partner with engineering members, and UX to uncover problems worthy of solving and aligned with the strategy Can help team members evaluate which problems are worth spending time with and which are better to discard Set the right context to empower teams making decisions on which problems to solve and not to
Product Management KPIs Can read KPIs and get insights from them Can set KPIs for each initiative and learn from them Can read between the lines and find opportunities with KPIs Can mentor teams on how to identify the right KPIs and learn from them
Techniques Product discovery Understand the basics of product discovery Understand how to implement and benefit from continuous discovery Can help teams increase the value created from continuous product discovery Can mentor team members and stakeholders on how to implement continuous product discovery
Techniques Backlog management Can manage product backlog well in collaboration with the team Can provide enough information and context to teams to ensure value is created Can help teams simplify backlog management by reducing waste Can mentor teams on how to effectively manage the backlog where value is the ultimate result
Techniques Roadmap Can interpret and follow roadmaps Can craft valuable roadmaps and reach alignment with stakeholders Know multiple roadmap formats and find the best choice for each situation Can reach alignment with top management and support teams on reaching goals
Techniques OKR Can understand and follow OKRs Can create measurable key results for predefined objectives Can help team members improve key results and benefit from clarity and focus Set objectives and empower teams to define key results while supporting them to create valuable ones
Techniques Agile frameworks Understand how to use common agile frameworks Understand and apply the principles of agility to daily work Understand multiple agile frameworks and bring relevant practices to help teams create value sooner Master agile frameworks and can help teams grow and benefit from a value-driven mindset
Techniques Story Mapping Understand what User Story Mapping is and the value behind it Can create User Story Mapping together with stakeholders and contribute to a shared understanding Can help team members understand how to benefit from User Story Mapping and facilitate sessions Can mentor teams on how to apply User Story Mapping and influence stakeholders to attend sessions and collaborate with teams
Techniques Data savvy Knows how to read basic dashboards Can find useful insights from data and help teams benefit from it Can define which data is valuable and which is distractive. Help teams set valuable metrics Foster a data-driven attitude and support teams in getting the proper data available