The Product Journey as a Learning Adventure
Product roles are not simply career positions; they are dynamic journeys rooted in ongoing learning. This work is an evolving blend of creativity, strategy, empathy, and technical skills. To grow in product management and design, it's not enough to just read books or complete courses—you need to directly engage in the work, learn from others, and share your knowledge. This journey of growth makes working in product both challenging and rewarding.
Product Roles as an Apprenticeship
Product management and design are inherently apprenticeship-based fields. Learning comes from doing, observing others, and receiving guidance—similar to how artisans have learned their craft for generations. In product roles, we also serve as mentors, sharing our expertise by coaching others and learning from both successes and failures.
Constant Learning as the Core of Product Work
Learning from Everywhere
Being a product manager or designer requires a dedication to continuous learning. You need to learn from customers—listening to their needs and observing their behaviors—and from the market by staying up-to-date with industry trends. There's also learning that comes from working with colleagues who offer different perspectives and from analyzing the outcomes of experiments.
Growth in product roles isn't only about improving technical skills. It's about developing the ability to think differently—being curious, empathetic, adaptable, and open to new ideas. Product management requires constant evolution because continuous learning is necessary to create products that make a real impact.
The “I Do, We Do, You Do” Framework
One effective coaching approach in product work is the “I Do, We Do, You Do” framework:
- I Do: Leaders demonstrate skills, approaches, and behaviors to set an example for the team.
- We Do: Leaders and team members work together to solve real-world problems, fostering shared learning.
- You Do: Team members take ownership, applying their learning independently with leaders providing feedback and support.
This framework embodies the apprenticeship model by gradually building both confidence and competence in individuals.
Socratic Questions as a Coaching Tool
The Role of Inquiry in Product Leadership
Coaching in product roles isn't about always giving the right answers; it's about encouraging team members to think deeply. This is where the Socratic method, which involves asking insightful questions, becomes invaluable. It allows people to reach their own conclusions, fostering independence and creativity.
Here are a few types of Socratic questions that are particularly effective in product roles:
- Why?: Asking questions like “Why are users behaving this way?” helps uncover deeper motivations.
- What else could we do?: This encourages broader thinking and the exploration of different solutions.
- How might we?: These questions are great for framing collaborative problem-solving discussions.
Coaching Through Uncertainty
Product work often involves ambiguity, and it's rare to have all the answers upfront. Thoughtful questioning helps team members navigate uncertainty, build critical reasoning skills, and consider various possibilities.
Product Leadership as Dual Responsibility
Driving Business Outcomes
A core part of product leadership is achieving results—helping the team define goals, make tough decisions, and ensure products deliver value to customers and the business. Leaders must align the team's efforts toward impactful outcomes that benefit the organization.
Enabling Your Team
Just as important as delivering outcomes is creating an environment where the team can succeed. Product leaders need to remove obstacles, clarify vision and priorities, and make sure the team has the necessary resources. They are responsible not only for building products but also for cultivating a healthy team culture.
Developing Team Members as Practitioners
A key aspect of product leadership is helping team members grow as practitioners. This means pairing up with them on difficult problems, demonstrating effective behaviors, and gradually stepping back to let them take ownership.
Product leaders must strike a balance between achieving short-term metrics and fostering long-term growth and learning. Both are essential to building strong, sustainable teams.
The Power of Apprenticeship in Product Teams
Learning by Example
Some of the most effective growth happens when leaders lead by example. A hands-on apprenticeship approach—demonstrating, guiding, and then stepping back—is a powerful strategy for developing skills across the team.
Consider a scenario where a junior product manager shadows a senior leader during a feature launch. Over time, the junior manager gradually takes on more responsibility until they can lead initiatives on their own. This type of mentorship accelerates development because it is rooted in real-world challenges rather than theoretical scenarios.
Building a Learning Culture
Encouraging a culture of peer-to-peer learning is crucial. Activities such as design critiques, product reviews, and retrospectives provide consistent opportunities for team members to share knowledge and learn from one another. This culture establishes the expectation that everyone, regardless of experience, has something to contribute and something to learn.
Product Practice as a Legacy of Learning
Product work is ultimately about apprenticeship—learning through doing and sharing that learning with others. Each of us serves as both an apprentice and a mentor at different times, and the legacy we leave is how we support each other's growth.
My Ask of You
Reflect on your role in product work: How are you taking on the roles of both learner and teacher? How are you contributing to the apprenticeship of others on your team?
In product work, our greatest impact often comes not from what we build ourselves, but from what we help others build.
“Teaching is the highest form of understanding.” - Aristotle