The Most Important Skill for Product Managers

As my product management career has progressed, my perspective on the most important skill has changed. Early on, I thought it was all about speed - getting things done fast. Later, I believed strategy was the ultimate priority. But now, I’m increasingly convinced that the most important skill for a PM is clarity - and the key to achieving clarity is strong communication.

It doesn’t matter how brilliant your product strategy is or how strong your prioritisation skills are. If it stays in your head and isn’t communicated clearly, your team, your boss and the leadership team won’t align and you’ll likely miss the mark.

If you’re a PM, there’s one skill you absolutely need: clear, structured communication. It’s the foundation for building trust. And that’s what the PM needs so leadership can rely on you and step back.

Here are 15 practical tips to improve your communication and bring clarity to your organisation.

1. Start with Strategic Alignment

Aim to tie your updates to a strategic goal. If you can’t, it might be because what you’re doing doesn’t align with the strategy, the strategy needs a clearer definition or the connection hasn’t been properly communicated. Fix this first.

Showing how the product team’s work affects the leadership team’s "trust battery" builds stronger alignment. The more aligned you are, the fewer concerns leadership will have—and over time, this translates to greater autonomy for you and your team.

The "trust battery" is a metaphor for the trust built between people or teams in an organisation. It starts at 50% when someone begins a new role, and every interaction either charges or drains it. Clear communication, meeting commitments, and delivering results add charge, while missed expectations, lack of accountability, or poor communication drain it.

2. Balance Strategy with Flexibility

Some might argue that tying every action to strategy can lead to over-justification and reduce agility. You can balance strategic alignment with the flexibility needed for short-term goals. Not every task needs to be strictly ‘strategic’—and that’s perfectly fine.

A practical approach is to align with the leadership team on a general guideline for how the team’s time will be allocated over the quarter—not sprint by sprint or month by month.

For example: 60% on strategic initiatives, 20% on technical improvements (especially if there’s no dedicated platform team) and 20% on tactical work like bug fixes or quick wins. It doesn’t need to be exact—just a shared understanding to help maintain better focus.

From the leadership perspective, this is essentially a budget allocation exercise and if they’re not doing it explicitly, they probably should be.

3. Tailor Comms to Your Audience

As a PM, you need to keep three groups informed: your team, your peers and the leadership team (including your boss). The key is adjusting the level of detail and tone based on who you’re addressing. Here’s how:

Team. Share regular, in-depth updates. Provide enough context and detail so the team understands the intent, enabling them to make informed decisions.

Peers. Offer concise, contextual summaries. Include relevant details if your work overlaps or if their input is needed.

Leadership. Stick to high-level summaries that focus on outcomes and roadblocks. Be clear about what you need — whether it’s assistance, action or simply an FYI.

4. Centralise Updates

Keep a single source of truth for your updates. If you’re sharing an update in Slack, make sure to also paste it into a Notion or Confluence page and keep a history of changes there. Include a link to this page in all your communications, so everyone knows where to find the latest information.

This approach not only ensures consistency but also helps you track your achievements over time.

5. Avoid Overloading

Focus on the essentials. Overloading your message with information can disengage your audience, especially at the leadership level. They mostly want to know:

• Are teams focused on solving the right problems?
• Are we on track in terms of weeks or months (not days)?
• Am I blocking anything or is there anything I can help with to speed things up?

6. Structure Updates for Clarity

When crafting updates, kick things off with a single-sentence summary that captures the most important insight or decision. Next, explain the ‘why’ behind it, and then include supporting details if they’re necessary. If you’re unsure whether to add something, ask yourself: “Does this help my audience make a decision or take action?”

For maximum clarity, use the SCQA framework (Situation, Complication, Question, Answer) to structure your communication. Aim to keep updates to one page, leaving detailed information in an appendix or linked. Focus on top-level insights for easier understanding and decision-making.

7. Be Consistent

Consistency builds trust. Regular updates—like weekly summaries or monthly reflections—make information predictable and reliable. Everyone knows what to expect, which reduces confusion and keeps people aligned.

8. Create an Updates Channel

Set up a dedicated Slack channel (e.g., #product-updates) for regular updates. Mention it in meetings to keep it top of mind and drive engagement.

9. Discovery from Delivery Tracks

When sharing updates, be explicit about which track you’re referring to. The two tracks are discovery (exploring opportunities and problems) and delivery (executing solutions). This ensures everyone clearly understands each phase and knows what to expect.

10. Diversify Your Formats

People process information differently. Mix it up! Record short screencasts with Loom, use Figma for visuals or create progress dashboards. Diagrams and charts can make complex updates easier to understand and save time.

11. Be Transparent About Challenges

Openness builds trust. Share progress honestly, including challenges and risks and flag potential roadblocks early. It’s okay to ask for help with tough problems or when you’re stuck — it shows you’re prioritising the team’s success.

12. Anchor Updates in the Why

When sharing insights or updates, always highlight the ‘why’ behind decisions. For example: “Engagement with Feature X has dropped by Y%, due to [reason]. The next step is ….”

13. Proactively Align with Leadership

Leaders don’t want to chase down information, but they need quick access to updates—especially in urgent situations. Take the initiative to address concerns early, before they escalate.

Connect with the relevant leadership team members well ahead of deadlines. Take the time to understand their preferred communication style, whether it’s email, Slack or face-to-face updates. Use this to confirm alignment, address any open questions and clear roadblocks before they become an issue.

14. Seek Feedback to Sharpen Updates

Regularly ask for feedback on your updates, ideally during 1:1 conversations or direct messages. This personal approach helps you understand what’s working and what isn’t, allowing you to tailor your communication style to suit each individual.

15. Practice Active Listening

Communication isn’t just about sharing information—it’s also about understanding and processing what you receive. Pay close attention to questions and concerns raised during updates or meetings.

For example, If the leadership team asks about a market trend, take it as a signal to evaluate its implications for the strategy.


Hope this helps! If I’ve missed anything, let me know—I’d love to hear your thoughts.