Tools for product people to align, influence and lead cross functional teams. (CoreHR, David Scully)

Product people have one of the most unique challenges in the professional world. They are the owners or managers of the product but in most cases do not manage the people or teams that that are directly responsible for the success of the product at the various different stages of its lifecycle.

In a world of specialists, product people are the generalists and product people at all levels in the organisation need to find a way to collaborate, influence and work with teams across different disciplines. In effect, you have to become a product leader. Product people have countless tools to help them on the technical side of their job such as SWOT templates, road mapping software and KPI dashboards.

But to become a true product leader that sets a vision, inspires and leads teams to create truly valuable products, you also need to have a toolkit of soft skills that you can draw on to lead the people that bring the product to life.