The Essential Skill of a PdM is "The Skill to Get the Team on Board" (Subtitle: Always Keep Nausicaä in Your Heart)

I came up with the phrase that the essential skill of a PdM is "the skill to get the team on board," so I will try to put that sentiment into words.
I like to abstract things.
Please bear with me.

Getting the team on board means "conveying that it is possible through various means."

There are various methods related to product management in the world.
I think all of them are useful. They are useful, but it is important to keep in mind why those methods exist.

This time, I will dare to state it clearly.
Various product management methods are, in the end, nothing more than the 'how' to get the team on board, or the 'how' to persuade stakeholders!

On the means of persuasion

If you just say "We can do it!" like empty cheerleading without any basis, the team won't get on board. You need some kind of ingenuity to persuade them. I will list the ones that come to mind regarding that ingenuity.
There is probably no one who covers all of these methods, and I think everyone is doing it by combining their own strengths.
Please let me know if you have your own secret weapons.

Persuading by proving needs

This is a method of persuading by proving needs through user interviews or actual sales activities. I have the impression that there are various methods around this, and it is an approach that many people have strong opinions about.
In reality, you can't really prove needs, but it does have a certain power to get people on board.
If I were to classify it, would it be a PdM-like approach?

Persuading by talking about the vision

A method that appeals to empathy, such as "that certainly seems like it will happen" or "we should do that." It is close to persuading by proving needs. In the sense of what the vision relies on, I think it is used in combination with other methods.
If I were to classify this as well, would it be a PdM-like approach?

Persuading with numbers

A means to explain that something should be done from the perspective of sales or profit.
Even if it is not sales or profit, if it can be explained quantitatively, I think it falls into this category.
In reality, it cannot be completely proven quantitatively, but it has broad persuasive power.
If I were to classify it, would it be a business manager or BizDev-like approach?
What I want to focus on here isthe idea that numbers are not limited to sales or profitThat is a cessation of thought. Rather, sales and profit are too far away as indicators for daily measures. Picking what to focus on, assuming there are indicators leading up to that, is also where you show your skill in moving those around you. Let's find numbers that engineers, business, and management can all get behind!

Persuading by thinking of and conveying concrete ways to do it

A method of persuading by conveying that it can be realized concretely from the perspective of engineering or operations.
A skill that makes people think, "Well, if that's the case, we can do it."
If I were to classify it, would it be an engineer-like approach?

Persuading with design

Visual information is extremely powerful. Even if you think "we can't do that" when it's explained in words, when it appears in front of you as a design, you might think "maybe we can."
In reality, before people think "we can't do that" when it's explained in words, they don't understand it in the first place.
Explaining by drawing a diagram to get understanding also falls into this category.
If I were to classify it, would it be a designer-like approach?

Persuading by identifying the other party's concerns

There is no silver bullet method that works for everyone.
So, you grasp each person's concerns and address them.
If I were to classify it, would it be a sales-like approach?

Becoming a domain expert

A method of becoming more knowledgeable about that domain than anyone else. Catch-up ability is sometimes cited as a PdM skill, and that leads to this method.
Catch-up ability itself is a reproducible skill, so I recommend acquiring it.
I also see patterns where people who were originally knowledgeable use it as a weapon when they become a PdM.

Putting into your own words why you should do it

Lies will eventually be exposed. Even if you don't go as far as lying, people can tell when you don't understand something, when you aren't truly committed, or when you're only doing something because you were told to.
Therefore, think thoroughly. Think and think until you can express it in your own words.

Start by doing it first

A style of leading by action. Just start doing it yourself first. If you look at the back of someone who has started, others might follow.
Starting first also serves as a supplementary means to 'put the reasons why it should be done into your own words.' It is common to understand and be able to articulate things only after you have tried them.

Pushing through with trust capital

Trust capital that you have accumulated day by day. There is a method of using that to push through in a somewhat power-play fashion. It is a reality that not everything can be understood just by explaining it. There are many things you won't know until you try. But if this person is saying it, maybe I'll follow. Surprisingly, that's often how it goes.
A point of caution is that trust capital decreases. Let's accumulate more by making the next challenge a success.

Pushing through with hierarchy

This is a variation of pushing through with trust capital.
If failures continue, you will get burned, so use it with proper judgment and care.
In the modern age, hierarchy is not as absolute as you might think.
Just because someone is higher in the hierarchy doesn't mean people will listen to what they say.
Subordinates have various options, after all.

Pushing through with charm

Perhaps the opposite of pushing through with hierarchy. A variation of trust capital.
It's the kind of thing where people think, 'If this person says so, I guess I have no choice,' or 'I can't bring myself to hate them.'
The number of people who can use this is limited.

Getting through with feigned energy

At the end of the day, feigned energy or groundless confidence is important.
Unfortunately, no one follows someone who looks anxious.
However, feigned energy doesn't last, so you should manage your own confidence.
Confidence management is important!

Taking a genuine interest in the other person

To move forward together, don't use techniques; take a genuine interest in the other person. If it's just a technique, it will be exposed. Ultimately, whether you can persuade someone depends on the other person. There are no absolute, correct principles. Customize your approach to fit the other person. Therefore, knowing the other person as primary information is important! Let's deep dive. You'll build a relationship of trust in the process of trying to know them, so it's killing two birds with one stone!

Resisting the gravity of 'it might not be possible'

The gravity of 'it might not be possible' is stronger than you think.

Reasons why it can't be done are easy to come up with, and the thought that it might not be possible easily chains through the team and covers it entirely.
That is why the skill to get the team motivated and move forward is important.

Even senior PdMs and leaders get caught by the gravity of 'it might not be possible.' I myself am sometimes pulled into the thought that 'maybe it's not possible.' Even so, I somehow shake off that gravity and move forward. I connect and weave together the reasons why it can be done.
Not limited to PdMs, teams that have people with this power move forward.
Since I'm at it, I want to have the power to move things forward; that's what I think.

I will say the important things once more.
It is important for people other than PdMs, and it is fine for people other than PdMs to play this role!

Always keep Nausicaä in your heart

Teams have people with various backgrounds. Each has an information asymmetry at the life level. Asymmetry creates the unknown. And humans are instinctively afraid of the unknown. It is an instinct and a reflex.
'Fear' and 'being motivated' are likely at opposite ends.
Objectively view and accept the reflexive reactions to fear in humans, including myself.
When I am in such a situation, I remember a certain scene from Nausicaä.

"You were just afraid, weren't you?"

It doesn't have to be Nausicaä; it can be anyone.
I would like to conclude this article by recommending that you possess a counter-spell for your instincts and reflexes.

I also gave a presentation based on this post.