Junior PMs will typically report to their Group Product Manager. For instance, a VP of Product may have 5 product teams, each of which would have a GPM at the helm guiding the other PMs along with their development roadmaps. The Group Product Manager acts as the leader and product manager for a single product team. They focus on strategy and big-picture initiatives regarding their products while leading and overseeing their product management team.Īs a result, a Group Product Manager often become Head of Product, Director of Product Management, or a VP of Product later in their careers. Group Product Managers are people managers in addition to product managers. What is a Group Product Manager?Ī Group Product Manager is typically a PM who has risen through the product management ranks and is responsible for leading a team of other product managers. You may get a taste of both tracks during your career, and your experiences will help you decide which is the track for you.įirst, however, let's dive into both of these positions in more depth. Choosing between them may be difficult at first, nor do you necessarily have to pick and choose right away.Īs you continue to gain experience as a PM, you'll learn more about your particular strengths and job preferences. Instead of managing a team, PPMs will be responsible for the most challenging and significant product work.īoth of these tracks are available to PMs who strive for them. In that case, you can work your way up and become a Principal Product Manager. However, suppose you are one of those PMs who excel as an individual contributor. Perhaps you will be promoted to Head of Product or a Director of Product Management. For example, if you're thriving as a Group Product Manager, you may advance further into upper management.Ī Group Product Manager position could set you up for a top executive position or even the C-Suite one day. If you were to jump into a PM career, it's possible to ride either of these tracks into lucrative and coveted roles down the line. As a result, they don't have the same individual contributor roles they once did when working as a PM. They are tasked with directly managing and overseeing a team of other product managers. On the other hand, Group Product Managers are on the management track. Generally speaking, they're the most talented ICs tasked with the most difficult of product work. PPMs are considered the top individual contributors of all the product managers. Principal Product Managers are on the individual contributor track. Only those directly managing other people are considered part of the management team. While, yes, it's true that all product managers do have 'manager' in their title, these two career tracks differ when it comes to the management of people.Īll PMs manage, but they are managing processes and tasks regarding product work and problems. If you're not a PM already, you may be confused here.Īren't all product managers on the management track? The word manager is directly in the title, isn't it? As a result, they lead and oversee a team's efforts to achieve an organization's goals. On the other hand, management is tasked with managing other members of an organization. Instead, they independently contribute to their organization's goals. PPMs, while senior members of the product management team, are still Individual Contributors (IC), whereas GPMs are on a Management track.Īn individual contributor is a member of an organization that does not have any management responsibilities. The primary difference between Group Product Managers (GPM) and Principal Product Managers (PPM) is the particular track that each is on. So let's get right to it! Individual Contributor Track vs. These are the questions that we set out to answer in this article. Which track is right for you, given your skills and work preferences? How do the roles and responsibilities differ? In researching the various product management tracks, you may have stumbled upon two engaging titles: the Group Product Manager and the Principal Product Manager.īoth are higher up on the PM food chain, but what exactly is the difference between the two? Are you interested in becoming a product manager or advancing your product management career? What are the long-term career tracks that are available for PMs?
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