Product managers are often described as the glue of a team—the bridge between designers, developers, and executives. But let’s be honest: the actual day-to-day of a product manager isn’t glamorous. They’re not building the product themselves, nor are they typically shaping the vision that drives the company forward. Instead, they occupy a space that’s fraught with ambiguity and competing expectations, tasked with aligning stakeholders who often don’t agree and keeping things moving.

It’s no surprise, then, that the most compelling narratives about product management don’t come from the trenches. They’re delivered on stages, in podcasts, and on blogs—contexts where the job can be reframed as a discipline of insight, foresight, and strategy. And maybe that’s the problem. The public-facing version of product management is aspirational, but it’s also disconnected from the gritty, unremarkable work of day-to-day execution.

So how do we bridge this gap? How do we take the energy and clarity that product managers exude when talking about their craft and translate it into workplace practices that improve outcomes? The answer might lie in rethinking the way we engage with product managers and the tools we give them to thrive.

Why product managers struggle to shine at work

The product manager’s role is a balancing act between the strategic and the operational, and that tension often leads to frustration. Product managers are expected to provide clarity to teams without necessarily having authority over them. They’re expected to synthesize inputs from dozens of stakeholders and make tough calls, but they’re rarely positioned as the ultimate decision-maker.

Worse still, the environments in which product managers operate—work meetings, Slack threads, email chains—aren’t conducive to the kind of thoughtful, reflective work that makes for great product thinking. Meetings are transactional and fleeting, designed to resolve immediate issues rather than generate lasting insights.

This disconnect creates a strange paradox: product managers have the potential to be deeply insightful thinkers, but the contexts in which they work rarely demand or reward that kind of thinking.

Borrowing from podcasts: crafting better conversations

The idea of structuring internal conversations like podcasts offers a surprisingly effective antidote to the stale rituals of workplace communication. Think about it: podcasts are built on the premise that every guest has something valuable to say. The host’s job is to create an environment where that value can be surfaced, shaped, and shared. This dynamic fosters trust, curiosity, and focus—qualities that are often missing from conventional meetings.

Imagine applying this mindset to workplace collaboration. Instead of haphazard brainstorming sessions or rigid status updates, product managers could engage in guided conversations designed to surface their best ideas. These conversations could be transcribed, refined, and transformed into actionable artifacts—pitch decks, requirement documents, or product roadmaps.

The beauty of this approach is that it captures the product manager’s natural strengths: their ability to articulate ideas, connect dots, and explain the “why” behind decisions. It’s also a reminder that clarity isn’t just a byproduct of good work; it’s a prerequisite.

AI as a partner in clarity

Here’s where AI enters the picture. By transcribing and processing these structured conversations, AI can take the heavy lifting out of document creation. Instead of spending hours wrestling with the right way to frame a spec or tailor a pitch to an executive’s preferences, product managers can focus on refining and iterating.

AI doesn’t replace the product manager’s judgment; it amplifies it. It allows them to experiment with multiple versions of a document, match the tone and style to different audiences, and test ideas without committing prematurely.

This approach also democratizes insight. By capturing the product manager’s thinking in a reusable format, it creates a body of work that the entire team can learn from and build upon. In a way, it turns every conversation into a scalable asset, making the role of the product manager more visible and more impactful.

Reimagining the product manager’s value

At its core, this shift isn’t just about tools or processes; it’s about redefining what it means to be a product manager. It’s about moving beyond the idea of the product manager as a “single throat to choke” and embracing their role as a catalyst for clarity and alignment.

The product manager’s true value lies not in their ability to do everything, but in their ability to synthesize, contextualize, and communicate. By creating environments that play to these strengths—whether through podcast-style conversations, AI-enabled workflows, or simply better meeting dynamics—we can unlock a deeper, more sustainable kind of impact.

In the end, the question isn’t whether product managers can be insightful. It’s whether we’re willing to create the conditions that allow their insights to thrive.