The Talent Gardener: Why Protecting Your PMs' Time is Your Most Important Job

Steve Johnson once wrote, "Many product managers are so busy doing other people's work, they have failed to do their own: driving the business of the product." If this hits close to home, you're not alone. As a product leader, one of your most crucial – and often overlooked – responsibilities is protecting your team's time and focus.

The Meeting Trap

Let's be honest: most product managers are drowning. Their calendars look like a game of Tetris gone wrong, packed with "quick syncs," "brief updates," and my personal favorite, "optional" meetings that aren't really optional. They're cc'd on every email, tagged in every Slack thread, and expected to be everywhere at once.

Here's what makes this even more challenging – in today's AI-driven world, this problem is getting worse, not better. Why? Because while AI tools promise to make us more efficient, they're also enabling an explosion of initiatives, features, and "opportunities" that all demand PM attention.

The Gardener's Approach

This is where the concept of "talent gardening" comes in. Just as a gardener creates the right conditions for plants to thrive, product leaders need to create an environment where their PMs can focus on what truly matters.

Think about it: A gardener doesn't just plant seeds and walk away. They:

• Protect plants from harsh elements (like unnecessary meetings)

• Remove weeds (low-value tasks that drain energy)

• Ensure proper nutrition (meaningful work that drives growth)

• Prune when necessary (saying no to good but non-essential requests)

Your New Priority: Protection

Here's where you come in. As a product leader, you need to be the force field between your PMs and the chaos. This means:

1. Teaching the power of "no" - Help your PMs understand that saying no to the wrong things is how they say yes to the right ones.

2. Setting clear boundaries - Not every meeting needs a PM. Not every email needs a response. Create guidelines that give your team permission to focus.

3. Leading by example - If you're running from meeting to meeting, constantly context-switching, and responding to every ping, guess what? Your team will think that's what success looks like.

The AI Opportunity

Here's an interesting twist: While AI is part of what's driving increased demands on PM time, it's also part of the solution. Work with your team to identify where AI can help them focus on strategic work by automating routine tasks. But – and this is crucial – don't let AI tools become another source of distraction.

The Bottom Line

Your job isn't just to manage products or even to manage product managers. It's to create an environment where your talent can thrive. Because at the end of the day, if your PMs are too busy doing everyone else's job, who's doing theirs?