The room was full, the energy high. Slides flickered across the screen, each one sharper than the last. The product roadmap had landed exactly as intended—ambitious, data-backed, compelling. Applause followed. And yet, as the meeting dissolved into side conversations and half-finished coffees, the product manager stayed still. Something was off. It wasn’t in the numbers. It wasn’t in the strategy. It was in the hesitation of a senior engineer who spoke less than usual. In the polite agreement of a stakeholder who typically challenged everything. In the absence of friction where friction should exist. Great product managers are defined in…
