product management Product Mastery Collection

The Year Soft Skills Define Product Management Success

Jeremy Hornby

With AI automating workflows and tools making data analysis seamless, what will truly set product managers apart in 2025?

Soft skills.

While technical skills are still essential, the ability to influence, negotiate, tell compelling stories, and lead with empathy is now a critical differentiator. PMs who master soft skills will be the ones who align teams, drive strategy, and build products that truly make an impact.

So, what does this shift mean for product managers?

We dive into this powerful habit in our latest Patreon-exclusive article, “The Year of Soft Skills: Essential Soft Skills for Product Managers in 2025.”

In our latest Patreon-exclusive article, part of the Roadmap to Mastery Collection, we explore:

  • Why soft skills—not technical skills—will be the deciding factor in PM success.
  • The essential soft skills that top PMs are focusing on now.
  • A case study of how soft skills transformed a struggling team into a high-performing unit.

What’s Inside the Full Article?

🔹 The biggest challenges PMs face in mastering soft skills.

🔹 Actionable strategies to strengthen influence, negotiation, and storytelling.

🔹 How soft skills impact alignment, innovation, and long-term success.

💡 This is part of the Roadmap to Mastery Collection—available exclusively on The Product Way Patreon.

📖 Don’t miss out—unlock the full article today: https://www.patreon.com/posts/patreon-year-of-122726244

Exclusive Access to Mastery

This post is part of the Roadmap to Mastery Collection, a premium series on The Product Way Patreon. As a Patron, you’ll gain access to:

  • Weekly updates with strategies designed to help PMs thrive.
  • Exclusive deep dives like this one on strategic influence.
  • A growing library of frameworks, case studies, and actionable tools.
  • 1-on-1 Support spanning personalized mentorship and resume reviews (available at higher tiers).

💡 Ready to future-proof your PM career? Subscribe today and unlock this article: https://www.patreon.com/posts/patreon-year-of-122726244

👉 What’s the #1 soft skill that’s helped you succeed as a PM?

Tags:
Unknown's avatar

Published by Jeremy Horn

Jeremy Horn is an award-winning, product management veteran with 2 decades of experience leading and managing product teams. Jeremy has held various executive and advisory roles, from founder of several start-ups to driving diverse organizations in online services, consumer products, and wearables. As founder of The Product Group, he has created the largest product management meetup in the world and hosts the annual awarding of The Best Product Person. Accelerating the next evolution of product management, Jeremy acted as creator and instructor of the 10-week product management course at General Assembly and The New School, and mentoring at Women 2.0 and Lean Startup Machine (where is he also a judge). To see where Jeremy is now check him out at (1) http://linkedin.com/in/TheProductGuy and (2) http://TheProductGuy.com