Definition
A Group Product Manager (GPM) is a PM leader who manages a small team of PMs (typically 3-5) while still owning a product area directly. It is the first rung on the management track of the PM career ladder, sitting between Senior PM and Director of Product.
The dual nature of the role is what makes it distinctive. At Google, a GPM at L7 might own the Google Maps navigation experience while managing three PMs who own search, transit, and cycling features. At Spotify, GPMs own "bets" (major product initiatives) while coaching the PMs executing within those bets.
The GPM role gained prominence in the 2010s as product orgs grew large enough to need a management layer but still wanted their managers to stay close to the product. It is often the fork in the road where PMs decide if they prefer management or the IC track.
Why It Matters for Product Managers
The GPM role solves a structural problem in product organizations: who manages the PMs? Engineering has a well-defined management chain (tech lead, engineering manager, director). Product historically lacked this, leaving PMs reporting to non-PM executives who could not evaluate their craft.
For PMs considering this path, the role requires a fundamental shift in how you measure success. As a Senior PM, success is your product's metrics. As a GPM, success is whether your PMs are making good decisions, shipping effectively, and growing in their careers. Your calendar shifts from user research and design reviews to 1:1s, roadmap reviews, and calibration discussions.
The role also creates leverage. A GPM who develops three strong PMs is shipping four products' worth of impact. A Senior PM, no matter how talented, is capped at one product area.
How It Works in Practice
Product ownership -- Own a product area directly, just like the PMs you manage. You write specs, make prioritization calls, and ship features. This typically occupies 40-50% of your time.
People management -- Run weekly 1:1s with each direct report. Coach them on prioritization, stakeholder management, and craft. Write performance reviews and make promotion cases.
Strategy coordination -- Ensure the product areas your team owns are pulling in the same direction. Resolve conflicts when one PM's feature creates a dependency or tradeoff for another.
Hiring -- Source, interview, and onboard new PMs for your group. A GPM often hires 1-2 PMs per year as the team grows.
Upward communication -- Represent your group's progress and risks to the Director or VP of Product. Translate executive strategy into specific goals for your PMs.
Common Pitfalls
Becoming a bottleneck. GPMs who review every spec and attend every design review prevent their PMs from developing ownership. Set decision boundaries clearly: "You own this -- brief me on the outcome, not the decision."
Neglecting the IC half. When management demands increase, GPMs often let their own product area drift. This creates a gap that engineers notice immediately.
Hiring mini-mes. The best GPMs build teams with diverse strengths. If every PM on your team thinks the same way, you have a fragile group that will miss blind spots.
Skipping the management fundamentals. Running a 1:1 is a skill. Giving critical feedback is a skill. Writing a useful performance review is a skill. Many GPMs wing these and wonder why their PMs stagnate.
Related Concepts
PM Career Ladder -- where GPM sits in the progression and how it branches from the IC track
Head of Product -- the next step up for GPMs who want to run an entire PM function
Product Strategy -- the strategic thinking GPMs need to align multiple product areasExplore More PM Terms
Browse our complete glossary of 100+ product management terms.