The 5 Ingredients of Product Coaching
by Petra Wille • Independent Product Leadership Coach & Author at Strong Product People
Petra is an independent product leadership coach based in Hamburg, Germany, and the author of 'Strong Product People'. She focuses on helping product leaders (Heads of Product, CPOs) improve their capability to coach and develop their teams.
🎙️ Episode Context
In this episode, Petra Wille discusses the critical role of product leaders in coaching their teams, outlining a 5-step framework for people development. She also delves into the art of storytelling for Product Managers, offering practical formats for different audiences, and explores the value of internal Communities of Practice for scaling learning.
Problem It Solves
Product leaders often struggle to develop their direct reports effectively because they lack a structured framework or background in coaching.
Framework Overview
A comprehensive cycle for managing and developing product talent, moving from definition to execution and follow-up. It shifts the focus from sporadic performance reviews to continuous, actionable growth.
🧠 Framework Structure
Define 'Good': Establish a clear comp...
Assess & Envision: Determine where th...
Co-create the Plan: The PM owns the d...
Nudge & Follow-up: Use regular, small...
When to Use
When you are a manager of PMs looking to structure your 1:1s and meaningful career development discussions.
Common Mistakes
Skipping the definition of 'competence' or taking full ownership of the plan instead of letting the employee own it.
Real World Example
Instead of a massive annual review, create a Google Doc with 3-5 themes for the next 6 months and color-code progress monthly.
Consistency beats intensity.
— Petra Wille