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You won’t find these PM skills on a resume

Most product skills aren’t flashy, but they’re what make you someone people want to work with again. 5 ideas, 5 ways to grow.

Author

Stefanie Brown
June 06, 2025

Hey friends,

Some product skills get all the spotlight, strategy decks, OKRs, and roadmap rituals.

But in my experience, the things that really move the needle aren’t in your onboarding docs.

They’re subtle. Often invisible. And they make the difference between a PM who gets things done… and one people ask to work with again.

Here are 5 underrated product habits to try next week. Each is paired with something to read, a tip to test, and a tool or resource to go deeper.

Let’s dive in 👇

Zooming out (on purpose)

When I’m buried in sprint threads or grooming tickets, I forget the bigger picture.

That’s why I’ve built the habit of pausing to zoom out daily.

It’s not about writing a new doc. It’s about perspective.

🔍 Ask:
→ What’s the actual problem here?
→ Is this worth solving right now?
→ What does good look like?

✅ Try this next week:
Schedule a 15-minute calendar block titled: “Zoom out.” (I try to block mine mid-week)
Then ask: Is this the highest-leverage thing we could be doing right now?

Editing scope like a writer, not a machine

As a product manager, I love to ship fast, get working products into users’ hands as quickly as possible, but speed without quality is just chaos.

Some of the best product calls I’ve made were decisions not to build.

Great scope editing feels like good writing:
→ Cut the filler.
→ Keep the tension.
→ Say more with less.

✅ Try this next week:
Before your next scope review, ask:
“What’s the minimum magic version of this feature?”

Holding ambiguity (without panic)

Early on, I thought decisiveness meant speed.
Now I know the best PMs hold uncertainty just long enough to learn what matters.

That doesn’t mean dragging your feet. It means resisting false clarity.

✅ Try this next week:
If you feel pressure to move fast, pause and ask:
“What am I solving for too early? What do I still need to learn?”

Reading the energy, not just the plan

Strategy is visible.
Energy is felt.

The vibe in a meeting, the tension in an async thread, the “we’ll see” in someone’s response, these things are data.

You can’t backlog your way through a team with low energy.

✅ Try this next week:
In your next retro or 1:1, ask:
→ “What’s giving us energy right now?”
→ “What’s quietly draining it?”

Sometimes what looks like a product problem is actually a people problem.

Asking better questions

Not every PM has the answer.
But the best ones know how to ask better questions.

→ “What does success look like?”
→ “What else might be true?”
→ “Who haven’t we heard from yet?”

This is the quiet art of shifting a conversation, without taking over.

✅ Try this next week:
In your next meeting, commit to asking one open-ended question before making a statement.

Watch what shifts.

TL;DR:
Great PMs aren’t just spreadsheet jockeys and roadmap wizards.
They’re editors, facilitators, question-askers, and vibe-checkers.

You don’t need to overhaul your system, just try one new habit next week.

Let me know which one lands 🙏

Till next time,
Stef