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Product coaching

Training gets you started;
coaching gets you there

A class teaches you the framework and core concepts. Coaching is what happens when you get back to work -when the backlog is still a wish list and your stakeholders want dates. I provide the tools and coaching that products teams need to build and execute strategies. And I work alongside your people until the new way of working sticks.

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1:1 or whole teamIndividual coaching, or embedded with a product team
Remote or on-siteColorado's Front Range in- person or anywhere in the US online
3-month engagementsLong enough to change habits, short enough to commit to
Practitioner, not theoristTwenty + years running product teams before teaching it

Who coaching is for

  • New or junior product professionals who inherited the job from engineering, project management, or the business and want to do it well, not just survive it
  • Product owners stuck between a scrum team and a room full of stakeholders, trying to turn requests into a backlog worth building
  • Teams that just finished training and want help applying it before the slides fade
  • Founders and heads of product who need a solid strategy and execution plans without hiring a full-time CPO. For ongoing advisory at the leadership-team level, see the fractional strategy partner option
  • Leaders sponsoring an agile adoption who want to know what to expect from their teams, and what their teams need from them

What we actually work on

Coaching is built around your real work, not a curriculum. Typical threads:

Deciding what to build

  • Turning a request list into a prioritized backlog
  • Writing product goals and sprint goals that mean something
  • Saying no, and having the evidence to back it up

Customer discovery

  • Running interviews that surface problems, not feature requests
  • Testing assumptions cheaply before committing a sprint
  • Building design and discovery disciplines into the team's rhythm

Working with the team

  • Refinement, planning, and reviews that people want to attend
  • Stories and acceptance criteria the team can deliver
  • Repairing trust between product and engineering

Managing up and out

  • Roadmaps that communicate without over-promising
  • Stakeholder conversations, executive updates, hard news
  • Making the case for the product with numbers

Three ways to work together

Most common

One-on-one coaching

Bi-weekly sessions with assigned homework over three months, plus async access between meetings for the moments that can't wait. We start with where you are and what's due, and work through it together. I work this way with product managers, product owners, and product leaders.

Ask About 1:1 Coaching
For teams

Embedded team coaching

I join your product team for a stretch: attending planning and reviews, coaching in the moment, and helping the product owner, scrum master, and stakeholders build a working rhythm. Weekly on-site or online, typically one to two days a week.

Ask About Team Coaching
After a class

Post-training coaching

Took the CSM, Agile Essentials, or a product management workshop with me? A short coaching block afterward is the difference between "interesting course" and "we work differently now." Available as a group follow-up for private cohorts or 1:1 for individuals.

Ask About Follow-up Coaching

How I coach

I ran product teams for twenty years before I taught anyone else to. That shapes the coaching: I'll ask a lot of questions, but I'll also tell you what I'd do, show you the artifact I'd make, and sit in the meeting with you if that's what it takes. The goal is for you to not need me, which is why engagements have an end date and a plan for what you'll keep doing after.

There is a hiring reason to coach rather than recruit. Organizations now want people with deep ability in two or more competencies, not one, and they report being able to find either skill but not both. Coaching builds the second skill in people who already know your business. It also helps to know that only 30% of individuals have professional development fully funded by their employer, so paying for it is itself a retention move.

Scrum Alliance and Business Agility Institute, Skills in the New World of Work, 2023.

Every engagement starts with a free 30-minute conversation. If I'm not the right fit, I'll say so and point you somewhere useful.

Common questions

What does it cost?

Pricing depends on format and length. One-on-one coaching is a flat monthly rate; team engagements are scoped by days per week. Tell me what you're working on and I'll send a proposal within two business days.

Do I need to have taken a class first?

No. Coaching stands on its own. If a class would help, I'll suggest one, but plenty of people come straight to coaching with a specific problem.

Can my employer pay?

Usually, and they often do. I can invoice your organization directly and provide a short scope document for approval.

Ready to stop guessing?

Tell me about your role, your team, and where things are stuck. I'll come back with a plan and a quote within two business days.

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