When I joined Cruise, I quickly realized the immense potential and complexity of the work we were undertaking. It became clear that to accomplish our ambitious goals, we needed more senior and staff-level Technical Program Managers (TPMs). These roles were pivotal for navigating the nuances of cross-functional collaboration, making sound strategic decisions, and setting the gold standard of what excellence looks like across the team. This not only resulted in better product development and program delivery, but also up-leveled the junior TPMs, helping them sharpen their influence, master program execution, and ultimately take on more responsibility with confidence and pride.
This experience underscored the immense value of highly skilled TPMs at all levels, and what makes team high performant. The TPM role is one of the most dynamic and nuanced positions in tech. TPMs ensure that complex, high-stakes projects are delivered successfully and efficiently. However, the role doesn’t come with a one-size-fits-all definition. Responsibilities vary across organizations, teams, and even specific programs, making it essential to assess the unique strengths and growth areas of your TPM team.
Whether you're a TPM manager, a tech leader, or an ambitious TPM yourself, building clarity around the fundamental skills and competencies required for success is crucial. With my TPM Skills Framework (aka TPM Competency Wheel), you’ll gain a deeper understanding of the traits that set exceptional TPMs apart and learn how you can leverage them to build high-performance teams, make smarter hiring and promotion decisions, and elevate your career.
TPM Competency Pillars
Most people expect TPMs to simply manage timelines and track deliverables. But the most effective TPMs do so much more. They take ownership of programs end-to-end, drive strategic initiatives, and integrate technical understanding with business objectives.
An exceptional TPM balances technical expertise, strategic execution, product impact, and influential leadership. These four pillars, which we’ll unpack below, are supported by 12 key competencies that allow TPMs to make meaningful contributions to their teams and organizations.
Technical Acumen
The ability to deeply understand and apply technical knowledge and skills to problem solving in a complex technical environment.
The foundation of any successful TPM lies in their technical acumen. TPMs operate in complex, highly technical environments where a deep understanding of systems, architecture, and technical processes is essential. Here are the three core competencies in this domain:
1. Domain Knowledge
TPMs with robust domain knowledge bring valuable insights to technical and product discussions. Whether it’s in financial systems, AI, or advertising tech, domain expertise helps connect dots, improve decision-making, and align cross-functional teams on program goals.
2. Technical Judgment
Exceptional TPMs possess the ability to evaluate design choices and trade-offs. Their informed input ensures engineering teams make decisions that align with both short-term project goals and long-term organizational vision.
3. Technical Expertise
Going beyond surface-level understanding, TPMs with hands-on knowledge of system design, architecture, and integrations can quickly identify dependencies, constraints, and risks. This ability enables them to craft solid, actionable program plans.
Strategic Execution
The ability to deliver complex and cross-functional programs from concept to launch to meet business goals.
Without strong execution capabilities, even the most innovative ideas can fall apart. Strategic execution is about ensuring complex, cross-functional programs are delivered seamlessly.
4. Execution & Tracking
Managing resources, resolving dependencies, and removing blockers—this is where TPMs shine. They ensure every aspect of the program is moving in sync while leveraging the right tools to track progress against deadlines.
5. Risk Management
Risk is inevitable in any program. Exceptional TPMs proactively assess potential issues, develop mitigation strategies, and minimize disruptions to ensure a smooth delivery.
6. Operational Excellence
From creating scalable processes to enhancing operational efficiency, TPMs optimize workflows and establish a steady rhythm of business. This competency delivers long-term value to the organization by reducing inefficiencies.
Product Impact
The ability to understand and integrate business, product, and/or customer insight, and align it with the program strategy.
For a TPM, delivering a successful program means more than just meeting deadlines—it’s about creating meaningful business and product outcomes.
7. Planning & Roadmap
A well-crafted roadmap is integral to smooth program development. TPMs with a keen sense of planning prioritize the right tasks, identify milestones, and structure timelines to align with strategic business goals.
8. Product Sense
A strong understanding of product vision, customer needs, and market challenges enables TPMs to bridge the gap between engineering execution and user impact. This drives better alignment across teams and stronger product delivery.
9. Impact Ownership
Great TPMs don’t just manage programs—they take full responsibility for achieving strategic outcomes. Whether that’s launching a new feature or increasing user engagement, they connect program goals directly to business objectives.
Influential Leadership
The ability to influence key people and drive them towards a common goal.
Perhaps the most intangible yet critical skill set of all, influential leadership allows TPMs to guide teams, align stakeholders, and foster growth within their organizations.
10. Stakeholder Management
Balancing the needs of various stakeholders is no easy feat. Effective TPMs proactively build trust, establish strong relationships, and collaborate across teams to ensure alignment on solutions.
11. Managing Up
Communicating effectively with executives is a make-or-break competency. TPMs who excel at managing up can confidently share progress updates, articulate strategic priorities, and secure support from senior leaders.
12. Team Management
The ability to motivate, mentor, and collaborate with team members is essential for fostering a culture of trust and innovation. Exceptional TPMs elevate their peers and enable their teams to perform at their best.
How to Use the TPM Skills Framework
Whether you’re nurturing your team’s potential, hiring top talent, or planning your own career growth, this framework offers a powerful lens to assess strengths and gaps. Here’s how you can apply it:
Manage Your Career Growth
Use the competencies as a guide to identify which areas to hone as you advance. For individual contributors, focus on enhancing your technical acumen and execution abilities. For managers and leaders, prioritize leveling up your product impact and influential leadership skills to drive larger organizational success.
Build High-Performance Teams
Analyze the competencies across your team to understand individual strengths and skill gaps. By strategically hiring for complementary skills, you can create a well-rounded, high-impact TPM team that’s set up for success.
Make Smarter Promotion Decisions
Assessing TPMs through the lens of these 12 competencies makes it easier to determine when someone is ready to take on greater responsibility. Ensure that technical foundations and execution excellence are strong before promoting individuals into leadership roles.
Hire Stronger TPMs
During the interview process, evaluate candidates not only on their technical abilities but also on soft skills like communication, product sense, and stakeholder management. The best TPMs combine technical expertise with execution and leadership capabilities.
Your TPM Competency Configuration
To build exceptional TPM teams and organizations, it’s essential to leverage the strengths of each individual. This begins with helping team members understand their unique competencies and how these align with the team’s goals and their personal career aspirations. Without a thoughtful approach, teams can become unbalanced, and unbalanced teams rarely succeed.
The competency wheel offers a simple and effective way to assess and visualize strengths. Begin by evaluating yourself across the 12 competencies, rating each on a scale from “Needs Focus” to “On Track” to “Outperform,” or anywhere in between. Once you’ve completed your assessment, plot the results on the wheel to gain a clear view of your overall competency profile. Below is an example worksheet designed for a Staff TPM.
Individual Contributor vs. People Leader
The framework is divided into two main categories: the top half represents individual contributor skills, while the bottom half highlights leadership qualities. Given the cross-functional nature of the TPM role, principal-level TPMs, excel across all four core competency areas.
As TPMs advance to more senior positions, their impact increasingly comes from influencing others. These leaders may guide teams of tens or even hundreds, driving alignment with the organization’s vision. At this level, strong skills in cross-functional collaboration are essential. Exceptional TPM leaders not only build high-performing TPM teams but also cultivate relationships across the organization, managing upward, laterally, and with peers. They serve as a unifying force, bringing together diverse teams to achieve business objectives and working seamlessly with executives to deliver on the company’s strategic goals.
Identifying Your TPM Archetype
Everyone’s competency wheel plot is different, but there are certain patterns that can point to an archetype. TPM archetypes may resemble people you know or how you see yourself. Archetypes can also help identify opportunities for growth and discuss how someone may fit into a TPM team. Archetypes can also be helpful to determine if one is in the right role or not. We will cover various TPM archetypes in a different post.
Elevate Your TPM Team's Impact
The best TPMs don’t just execute—they own outcomes, influence direction, and drive alignment across entire organizations. Whether you’re an aspiring TPM looking to grow or a leader aiming to build a world-class team, the TPM Competency Skills Framework provides the insights and strategies needed to unlock an exceptional level of impact.
Gain exclusive access to the comprehensive TPM Competency Wheel Toolkit, included within the TPM Leader’s Toolkit. This 37-page guide offers valuable insights, including:
How competencies develop at each level
TPM Archetypes for role alignment
A detailed Competency One-Pager
A practical Competency Worksheet
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is a Technical Program Manager (TPM)?
A Technical Program Manager (TPM) is a professional responsible for overseeing complex technical programs within an organization. They bridge the gap between technical teams and business objectives, ensuring that projects are planned, executed, and delivered successfully while aligning with organizational goals.
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