You Need To Value Yourself More: A Product Manager Guide To Self-assessment
Chances are you're getting it wrong when it comes to evaluating your performance. Here's why you should evaluate yourself better despite product management setbacks.
Product managers, it's time to look beyond launches and deadlines. Let's talk about the skills that truly matter and how to showcase your impact as a leader.
As a product manager, have you ever felt like your worth is solely tied to your latest launch or how well you met deadlines? If so, you're not alone. Many PMs fall into the trap of measuring their value through narrow, often unfair metrics. But it's time to change that narrative and learn how to evaluate yourself more holistically.
The Problem with Traditional Self-Evaluations
Traditional self-evaluations often focus on quantifiable metrics like product launches, revenue generated, or deadlines met. While these are important, they don't tell the whole story of a product manager's impact. Consider this:
A successful launch doesn't always mean a successful product in the long run.
Missing a deadline might be the result of pivoting based on valuable user feedback.
Revenue doesn't always reflect the value you're creating for users.
Actually, output-focused metrics like number of features delivered or documents created can be misleading:
❌ They emphasize quantity over quality and may not reflect actual value provided to users
❌ They can incentivize busy work rather than meaningful outcomes
🆘 This is not a good way to measure success and product leaders, if you are evaluating your PMs in this way, you may be propagating the wrong mindset in your organization.
So, how can a product manager capture the full scope of their contributions? Let's dive into a more comprehensive approach to self-assessment.
A Holistic Framework for Self-Assessment
How do I evaluate myself if I am a good product manager?
A came across a great answer to this question from
(former product executive at Amazon, Uber, and Airbnb), on Quora. Mind you, this answer is from 11 years ago, and surprisingly, I consider it very relevant even today!Like Ian said, instead of fixating on narrow metrics, consider evaluating yourself across these key areas:
Customer Impact: How well do you understand and solve customer problems?
Product Execution: What's the quality and impact of what you ship?
Business Impact: How does your work tie to business outcomes?
Team Impact: How do you make your team better?
Organizational Impact: What's your influence beyond your immediate team?
1. Customer Impact
“Satisfaction is not binary, it is a continuum. As a PM, you do your job well if you continually find and execute the highest leverage projects that improve customer satisfaction.” —Ian McAllister.
Have you conducted regular user interviews and usability tests?
Has your customer satisfaction metric increased since you took over the product?
Have you implemented a customer feedback loop that directly influences your product roadmap?
2. Product Execution
Even if you missed some deadlines, have your launched features seen higher adoption rates?
Have you improved sprint planning processes, resulting in more realistic timelines and better team morale?
Have you reduced your bug backlog through improved QA processes?
3. Business Impact
Despite delays, has your product's revenue grown year-over-year?
Have you identified and pursued new market segments?
Has your customer retention rate improved due to features you championed?
4. Team Impact
“Your team respects you and values your contribution. You don't need to be perfect, but feedback from your team members should be primarily positive. The tricky part is that you typically don't have access to all their feedback, but your manager will. You should ask for it and act on it.” —Ian McAllister.
Have you implemented mentorship programs for junior PMs?
Has cross-functional collaboration improved under your leadership?
Have you fostered a culture of learning from failure, leading to more innovative ideas?
5. Organizational Impact
Have you shared your methodologies with other product teams, improving company-wide practices?
Are you invited to speak at company-wide meetings about product strategy?
Have you contributed to improving hiring processes for product roles?
The Power of Reframing
How you frame your experiences significantly impacts your self-perception and growth. Instead of viewing challenges as failures, see them as opportunities to learn and improve. This mindset shift can be transformative for your career and personal development.
How to Reframe Setbacks and Failures
It's crucial to understand that setbacks and failures are part of the product management journey. Instead of letting them define you, use them as opportunities for growth:
Reflect objectively: Conduct a thorough post-mortem analysis of what went wrong and why.
Learn from the experience: Identify the lessons and apply them to future endeavors.
Celebrate the journey: Recognize the skills you've gained and the relationships you've built, even if the outcome wasn't what you hoped for.
Setbacks and failures are part of the product management role. Instead of letting them define you, use them as opportunities for growth.
Practical Steps for Better Self-Assessment
Set clear expectations: Work with your manager to establish appropriate baseline benchmarks for measuring your success.
Gather diverse feedback: Ask for input from peers, stakeholders, and even users to get a 360-degree view of your performance.
Use a structured framework: Employ tools like the PMwheel to assess your skills and decision-making objectively.
Another way to do it, is with the ELEVATE framework, well explained by
in collaboration with . A MUST read!Focus on outcomes, not just output: Evaluate the impact of your work, not just the amount of work you've done.
Regularly reassess: Make self-evaluation a habit, not just an annual exercise.
Pivoting Series: My Last Year Story
I am currently evaluating myself with the highest score my company offers in performance evaluations, despite the fact that last year two features of our product were not released until this month, and besides, I am not even 1 year old with this new client.
You should probably think: That’s crazy!
The truth is that although these two functions were delayed, it was not just time lost, but opportunities to refine our process and better adapt to the changing needs of our users.
If I wanted to succeed, I had to go back to basics with them.
This story and more behind-the-scenes will be part of a adjacent newsletter for paid subscribers called PIVOTING.
Upgrade to a paid subscription to receive stories like this one. If you're already a paid subscriber, sit back and wait for these stories in your inbox!
Final Thoughts
As a product manager, your value isn't just in the products you ship, but in the vision you set, the teams you lead, and the culture you create. As you assess your own performance, ask yourself:
What underlying challenges have you addressed?
How have you improved your team’s capabilities and culture?
What long-term value have you created, even if it’s not immediately visible in traditional metrics?
By adopting a more holistic approach to self-assessment, you'll not only gain a clearer picture of your strengths and areas for improvement but also build the confidence to advocate for yourself effectively.
Your impact as a product leader goes far beyond what can be captured in simple metrics or deadlines.
What's your approach to self-assessment? How do you measure your own performance as a product manager? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!
Thanks for sharing this guide. As you mention at the end, It's a life-changing habit tracking this in any framework/method, so you're always ready with metrics, numbers, impact... I usually have a Miro board where I drop screenshots and tables so I can pass that quick to slides every time my boss ask for "executive / more strategic" presentations.