This article is based on Kerry Wheeler’s inspiring talk at the Product Marketing Summit in Denver. As a PMA member, you can enjoy the complete recording here. 

When she gave this talk, Kerry was a Senior PMM at Lattice. She’s since taken on a new role as Lead Customer Marketing Manager. Congratulations, Kerry! 🎉

Ever been asked to make a slide deck pretty or create a one-pager that sales never actually used? Yeah, we’ve all been there. 

As product marketers, we’re asked to do a lot of things. We sit at the intersection of nearly everything in the business, and it’s both a blessing and a curse. We’re involved in countless conversations and have a voice in many decisions. It’s exciting and dynamic, but it can also be overwhelming.

Most PMMs I know are high achievers and people pleasers. We want to be part of everything, and we know we’re capable of making things happen, so we say yes. But here’s the rub: saying yes to everything can lead to burnout. 

Slide with the title 'It’s a blessing and a curse to sit at the intersection of every department,' featuring a Venn diagram. The central circle labeled 'Product Marketing' is surrounded by overlapping sections for 'Product,' 'Customer Success,' 'Sales,' and 'Marketing,' illustrating the interconnected role of product marketing within a company.

Suddenly, you’re working 10-hour days, juggling projects for customer success, product launches, sales motions, and training sessions. And often, these efforts don’t even align with your goals!

When this happens, PMMs risk being seen as a service center rather than the strategic leaders we truly are. It’s a positioning problem – not for the product, but for ourselves. 

So, how do we flip the script? How do we stop saying yes to every task and start positioning ourselves as strategic leaders? To make this shift, we need to redefine how we approach our roles. 

So, I’ve developed two frameworks that will help you and your team transition from being viewed as a service center to becoming strategic leaders, and that’s what I want to share with you in this article. I’ll also share my three top tips to help you solidify your position as a strategic leader.

Let’s get into it.

What does it mean to be a strategic leader?

Before we dive into our frameworks, let’s unpack what being a strategic leader really means. Here’s my definition: 

"Strategic leaders chart the path forward for the business and take everyone along with them to achieve it." Kelly Wheeler, Lead Customer Marketing Manager at Lattice

It’s about having a clear vision and using it to influence stakeholders, align teams, and rally them toward shared goals.

This also requires strong goal-setting skills. If you’re at a larger company, you might use frameworks like OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) or V2MOMs. If you’re at a smaller organization, you may not have formal goals in place yet. 

When I worked at Sprig and Quorum – both teeny-tiny companies – goal-setting wasn’t always possible because priorities shifted constantly, but that’s where PMMs can shine.

Since we sit at the center of everything, we’re uniquely positioned to step up and define what’s most important. By raising our hands and taking ownership, we can guide our teams and organizations toward meaningful, achievable objectives. That’s the essence of being a strategic leader – and it’s the path I want to help you take.

So, let’s dive into two frameworks that will help you do just that.

Framework #1: The quarterly State of the Union

One of my favorite strategies is conducting a quarterly State of the Union. I started this when I was the sole PMM at Quorum, and it was a game-changer. 

At the time, I felt completely overworked – juggling what I thought were impactful projects. But when I spoke with my CEO, I realized he had no idea what I was working on. Worse, he didn’t feel my efforts were driving the business forward in the way they needed to.

That moment forced me to step back and refocus. I asked myself: is what I’m working on hitting the mark for our customers and the market? Is it aligning with the broader business strategy? The State of the Union became my way to ensure my efforts were relevant and impactful.

At its core, this is a quarterly presentation that summarizes your key insights, achievements, and learnings from the past three months. It provides clarity and alignment across teams and leadership.

Here’s what I like to include:

  • Market trends
  • Competitor movements
  • Internal learnings and feedback
  • New and existing business performance
  • Customer research and feedback themes

Let’s dive deeper into each element.

Start by aggregating insights about your industry. What big shifts or trends have occurred in the past quarter? 

For example, in my current role at Lattice – an HR platform – we’ve seen trends like quiet quitting, the great resignation, and now AI’s impact on HR. These trends influence not just marketing strategies but product development too.

Ask yourself: how can you latch onto relevant trends to deliver timely, resonant messaging? What’s happening in the market that your product teams need to be aware of so they can build features to solve new customer pain points?

How to streamline market researchThis can be a lot of work, so make it a team effort. At Lattice, we use a Slack channel dedicated to industry trends where anyone in the company can share articles or observations. It’s a simple, collaborative way to gather insights without overwhelming yourself or your team.

Competitor movements

Understanding your competitors is just as important. What features are they releasing? How are they positioning themselves? Are you noticing any shifts in their strategy? This isn’t just about observing – it’s about identifying opportunities or threats.

Key areas to evaluate:

  • Product launches and features: Are there gaps in your product compared to theirs?
  • Sales insights: What are your sales reps hearing from prospects about competitors?
  • Positioning and messaging: Does their messaging resonate more than yours?

How to gather competitor intelAt Lattice, we have a dedicated Slack channel for competitive insights where sales reps share what they’re hearing on calls, including collateral or proposals from competitors. This helps us keep a pulse on the competitive landscape and identify trends or shifts quickly.

Internal learnings and feedback

Another key element of the State of the Union is aggregating internal learnings and feedback from the past quarter. This involves taking stock of all the product launches, campaigns, and initiatives you’ve worked on. 

At my organization, we do a retrospective after every product launch. I basically copy and paste those learnings into our State of the Union and synthesize them into broader insights.

Ask yourself: