What Really Makes a Good Product Team?

What makes a good product team? You need a cohesive, collaborative group of people who can work well together.

A good product team is a group of people who work well together and have a cohesive vision of what they want to create.

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Traits of a Good, High-Performing Product Team

Transparency and visibility across the organization

The business side of the company needs to know what the team is doing and vice versa. Business needs to be able to provide input on what they want to see in the product.

The team should also be able to create a long-term product strategy, communicate it, and then execute it.

So, they can make changes quickly, as needed, without having to go through a long approval process.

Empowered and autonomous

The team should be able to determine their own roadmap and strategy. They should have the freedom to experiment with new functionality and move fast when needed.

They should also be able to make decisions on how to improve the product and how to solve problems without having to ask for permission from other parts of the company.

Cross-functional team

The team should contain people from different departments and backgrounds. They should have different skill sets but work together on a common goal.

Ideally, the team should be composed of people from different age groups, genders, and ethnicity.

They need people who possess a broad range of skills and experience. This is especially important as you move into new markets or target new users. 

You will need people who can design, develop, market, sell, support, and manage the product.

Aligned with organizational goals

The team should work with the rest of the organization to achieve organizational goals.

They should also work with different departments, including sales, marketing, customer service, finance, and management, to make sure they are working in alignment with the company’s bigger picture.

Top-notch people skills

A good product team needs people who are passionate about what they are doing and want to see the company succeed.

They need people who like being around each other and want to work together to solve problems and develop great products.

Team members should be able to communicate openly and honestly, share ideas, and respect each other’s different viewpoints.

Complementary of others

While the team should have good people skills, they should also be good at what they do.

They need to know their roles on the team, understand how their role fits into the bigger picture of the company’s goals, and be able to work well together.

They should also be able to work independently and take initiative when needed.

You will need people who are self-motivated and can take ownership of tasks.

The Bottom Line

To sum it all up, a good product team is composed of people who are aligned, who share the same vision, and who can communicate well together.

This group should be able to make decisions together and work on a common goal.

They need to be trusted by the other departments in the company and be able to work with them to achieve organizational goals.