R082 - Psychology in the Role of Product Manager, with Elena González

In this episode, we explore a rarely discussed perspective of the product world: the psychology behind the role of Product Manager. Beyond metrics and roadmaps, this role involves navigating ambiguity, handling pressure, learning from mistakes, and taking care of mental health.

We talk with Elena González, Senior Product Manager at Eventbrite, about ambiguity, cognitive load, impostor syndrome, burnout and how to find meaning and impact in an environment that demands constant results. Her vision reminds us that products are built by people, and taking care of those people is also creating impact. An honest, human, and deeply inspiring conversation about the more human side of Product Management.

What would you like us to know about you?

Well, important things, like I love eating —something I consider relevant—. I'm from Barcelona, although my family is from Galicia, so everything is connected. I've been working in product for almost ten years, but I don't think that defines me as a person. If I had to choose one word that connects me with my profession, it would be curiosity. I'm a very curious person, I like learning, and I think that has naturally led me to what I do today.

How did you come to work in digital product?

It was a series of coincidences. When I started, this role didn't even exist in Barcelona. I studied Advertising and Public Relations, and from the beginning, I wanted to intern in as many places as possible. I joined a Swiss consultancy opening offices in Barcelona, helping as an intern to the project managers. I had no idea about technology; in fact, I had to look up how to turn on a Mac.
That was my first experience in the digital world, I learned about delivery, backend, frontend, and agile methodologies. But what attracted me most was the contact with the client: understanding what they needed and how to translate that into a solution. I was frustrated not being able to define those solutions from my position, and that's when I discovered the role of product owner.
Later I joined Badi, when there were only 20 people, and I could see a company and a product grow from scratch. It was an intense learning experience. Then I went through Wallapop and, finally, four years ago, I arrived at Eventbrite.

What is it like to be a Product Manager at Eventbrite today?

I would say it's like a salad: a bit of everything and all at once. A typical day includes refinement meetings, sessions with engineering to define very ambiguous initiatives, syncing with stakeholders, and interviews with creators —users who organize events— to understand how they think.

There are also data analysis, trainings, launches, metric validation... It's a role with a lot of ambiguity, uncertainty, and complexity, but also very stimulating.

I don't think impact is measured only in metrics or KPIs; it's also in how we care for the people we work with.

Is it hard to be a Product Manager?

It's not easy and it's not for everyone, nor for every stage of life. I wouldn't talk about suffering, but about exhaustion. There's a constant change of context: you talk to people with different visions, different languages, and you have to adapt continuously. That generates a great cognitive load. Also, the role is very ambiguous: each company and each team defines it differently.
If you don't know how to set limits, you can fall into the trap of feeling that everything depends on you. And when you've been working on an idea for months and the company changes strategy, having to tell your team that all that work is discarded is very tough.

How do you create impact from your role?

I think there are three levels.

If I think purely as Elena Product Manager, within a company, obviously trying to understand what the user needs and adapting that area I can control to meet those needs. I try to think about giving them something that is truly useful, that I then see they are using and ultimately solves a need for them.

As for Elena being part of a product team within a company, I think what I try is with the people I collaborate with every day, to create an environment where we all feel comfortable, where we can have fun, where we grow. And I think that also forms part of the impact.

And I would say that within the company, perhaps more on a cultural level, I have my own philosophy of how I like to work, how I would like companies to be and create impact. So, within my small area of impact within the company, I try to generate a cultural change or at least develop a more human culture where people are put first, both users and company people, and respect a little within this era of high impact focused on numbers, understanding that impact is not only numbers, QRs, KPIs, Revenue and all these things that interest companies, but there is another impact that is also important, which is the one we generate as people.

You ask me to cross the ocean, but you don't let me decide how. If I don't make it, you can't blame me.

You talked about roadmaps and the obsession with deliverables. What do you think?

I think we live in an output culture. Companies need to justify growth and revenue, and that translates into pressure: “What are you going to do, when, and what impact will it have?”. But there's barely room to iterate or learn.
The industry wants quick impact, but learning takes time. That tension between speed and learning is one of the biggest challenges in product.

Burnout is not just tiredness, it's demotivation: the loss of autonomy, learning, and purpose.

How do you manage ambiguity and uncertainty psychologically?

It's hard for me because I tend to want to have everything under control. But I've learned to put ambiguity on the table: identify what we know, what we don't know, and how we distribute the work to discover it. The important thing is to build trust in the team, accept that we don't have all the answers, and use the right questions to move forward.

Have you experienced stages of burnout?

I don't like using the label, but I have had moments of exhaustion. I remember nights when I would sit down to dinner and end up crying. I looked for information and found a model that talked about three dimensions of burnout: emotional fatigue, disconnection from others, and cognitive inefficiency. I had them all.
I understood that burnout is not just tiredness, it's demotivation. And I discovered that what motivated me —autonomy, learning, and purpose— were exactly the things I lacked then.

It's very hard to be asked for results when you don't have agency.

Exactly. It's a trap: you ask me to cross the ocean, but you don't let me decide how. If I don't make it, you can't blame me. For there to be accountability, there has to be autonomy.

Feedback hurts because we are human, but behind every criticism, there is an opportunity to learn.

What can we do to protect ourselves?

There's no recipe, but it helps to identify what your area of influence is and protect what's important to you. In my case, I try to have open conversations with my stakeholders: ask for trust, ask for space to iterate, to learn. Also, remember that a failed experiment is not a failure: learning why it didn't work also has value.

And how do you make feedback not hurt?

It hurts because we are human. But I try to separate the content from the form. Not everyone communicates well; sometimes what sounds harsh comes from pressure or lack of resources.
I try to analyze feedback as if it were product metrics: if only one person says it, maybe it's anecdotal; if ten repeat it, there's a pattern. And I tell myself: “This is not an attack. There's something I can learn behind it.” Sometimes the lesson comes days later when you think more calmly.

You learn to be a Product Manager by being a Product Manager: experimenting, failing, and learning.

How do you relate the personal with the professional?

A lot. We are not two different people. What I learn about myself personally helps me be a better professional, and vice versa. I try to bring to my private life the reflection I apply at work: not reacting impulsively, asking myself why something hurts and what I can learn from it.

Runroom Academy

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How do you learn to be a Product Manager?

Honestly, by being a Product Manager. Learning by doing. Taking missteps, reflecting on mistakes, formulating hypotheses, and observing results. You learn by experimenting, with curiosity and humility. And, above all, daring, even if you don't know exactly how to do it.

What are your challenges now?

Continuing to find contexts where I can learn and step out of my comfort zone. That discomfort keeps me alive. It's what drives me to advance and grow professionally.

Do you think it's necessary to suffer to grow?

I would like to think not, but I believe those of us who are curious need to open new doors. Some are uncomfortable, and that's okay. It's not about avoiding discomfort, but about accepting that it's part of growth.

Elena has shown us the other side of Product Management: the more human side. Beyond metrics, roadmaps, and strategy, being a PM involves navigating ambiguity, dealing with constant context changes, and handling a heavy psychological load. We've talked about burnout, how to reinterpret external pressure so it doesn't sink us, the paradox between autonomy and accountability, impostor syndrome, and the importance of leading from vulnerability. The great learning is that we are not alone in these difficulties: opening the conversation and sharing experiences makes the role more sustainable, more human, and ultimately more valuable for teams and organizations.