Exploring what makes a TPM thrive

This topic comes up in every interview I’ve conducted for the TPM position. I’ve put some thought into everything that a TPM does. The points that I’m going to discuss are not qualities specific to a company, team, or variation on the TPM role, but they are transferable from one position to the next.

Keeping forward momentum

For a TPM to thrive, their focus needs to be on moving the project forward and unblocking their team to get things done. This may sound like a cliché, as though you are reading it from a job description, but it is resoundingly true. Our innate drive to solve roadblocks, build a plan, mitigate risk, and drive toward deadlines are key to a project’s success. It is important to keep momentum on a project because, without it, we risk losing progress and need to start over. Context switching is often to blame here because, during the time a project is blocked, the individuals working on it may...