Training vs. Coaching

Key Takeaways:

• Training ≠ Coaching. Training builds foundational knowledge and skills. Coaching helps you apply them in your unique context.
• Skill building takes structured practice. Reading a book isn’t enough—people need reps, feedback, and guided experiences.
• Coaching is most valuable when teams already have baseline skills and face org-specific blockers.
• You don’t need to be a certified coach to be effective. Experience in the craft and knowing how to support others in real-world contexts is often more important.
• Leaders need targeted learning, too. But leadership-specific product training is still hard to find.

Resources & Links:

• Follow Teresa Torres: https://ProductTalk.org
• Follow Petra Wille: https://Petra-Wille.com

Mentioned in the episode:

• Becoming a Product Coach by Marty Cagan SVPG
• General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
• Opportunity Solution Trees: Visualize Your Discovery to Stay Aligned and Drive Outcomes by Teresa Torres
• Drowning in Product Content? Here’s How to Focus and Thrive by Petra Wille
• Continuous Discovery Habits by Teresa Torres
• Story-Based Customer Interviews Uncover Much-Needed Context by Teresa Torres
• Continuous Interviewing Course by Teresa Torres
• Communities of Practice: What They Are, What They Do, and What I’m Hoping to Learn by Petra Wille
• Coaching for Product Leaders/Executives by Petra Wille
• Why Agile Coaches Can’t Be Product Coaches by Petra Wille