Different corporations use different corporate hierarchies, and there is no actual rule on what each successive tier must be named.

In many ways this is analogous to the Architect track in engineering (in contrast to the CTO track), and something we should encourage more. This is where soft skills around people management become a critical part of the job – managing people is even harder than managing products! It's worth noting that the same job can have different titles depending on the company, the industry, the location, and the size of the company. Implementing office policies and strategizing improvements to existing processes, Developing initiatives related to company culture and employee wellness, Implementing critical safety procedures, including establishing evacuation plans, running drills, and setting up building security, Planning office design and layout improvements, Managing operations tasks, including handling employee reward perks, parking, and building maintenance, Creating reports and sometimes presenting them, Overseeing other office support staff members, Determining company’s information organization and architecture, Interfacing with clients, vendors, building management, and employees on a regular basis, Running major office projects, such as renovations, installations, and office design initiatives, Managing office budget and financial administration, from handling expenses to implementing processes, Hearing (and resolves issues related to) complaints, Independently develop viable solutions to problems as they arise, Think strategically and provide executives with sound big-picture guidance, Gracefully handle pressure to remain a constantly reliable resource to management, Prioritize work in ways that align with the company mission, Use discretion at all times to be a trustworthy keeper of confidential information, Effectively convey messages to a variety of different audiences in a variety of different formats, Negotiate and network to build advantageous and fulfilling connections, Leverage emotional intelligence to work harmoniously and effectively with others, Apply analytics skills to inform key business decisions, Understand and interpret complex information related to both abstract (relationships) and technical (inventory management) office responsibilities, Adapt to changing demands and responsibilities, Guide projects and workflows from initiation to completion, Listen, encourage, and occasionally provide workplace “therapy”, Serving as chief collaborator around the office, Being the sole liaison across disparate office teams during the development and execution of company-wide initiatives, policies, and processes, Facilitating and even leading new business initiatives and strategic projects, Consulting to improve operations and workflows for entire departments, Performing a variety of strategic Human Resource functions related to employee hiring, retention, and policy development, Managing other department heads and managers, Determining how to best use company resources, Keeping company stakeholders informed on key updates and developments, Managing and guiding the entire administrative support team and often other teams as well, Setting goals for the entire company and individual teams, Overseeing all things related to daily operations, Pursuing business development opportunities, Maintaining key external strategic business relationships, Serving at second-in-command to key executives and taking in a myriad of responsibilities within that capacity, Have years of experience and proven successes in an administrative or managerial capacity, Demonstrate strategic and critical thinking skills that rival those of the executives they serve, Possess a supernatural eye for detail; these people remember everyone’s name, every due date, and every key point about policies and processes, Communicate with anyone and everyone to get results, Manipulate their time until it seems like they have more hours in a day, Demonstrate an investor-level commitment to the company mission, Have a knack for improving processes and managing workflows in a way that promotes efficiency as well as goodwill, Be well liked and respected by employee of all levels and in all departments, Take ownership of all outcomes, even those not directly touching daily work.

Tech Blog He is also the author of best-seller Product Leadership, How Top Product Leaders Launch Great Products and Build Successful Teams (O'Reilly, 2017). The top-level management holds the responsibility of setting goals, creating a business plan or project plan , and manage the entire organization. A senior product manager does the same thing as a product manager but has a senior title either in recognition of their contributions, the relative importance of their product, or to reflect the fact that they also spend time mentoring more junior product managers. Managing office communications—fielding organizational phone calls, emails, and traditional mail, Maintaining office services, including IT resources and facilities (This includes fielding technical questions and service requests. Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.

Discover new ways to level up your career, build better products, and lead successful product teams with Mind the Product Membership.