coaching-pms

What this skill does

# Coaching Product Managers

## Scope

**Covers**
- Coaching a PM (direct report or mentee) to improve product craft, leadership, and decision quality
- Converting “be better at X” into a measurable **development plan** with weekly reps + follow-ups
- Defining what “good PM” means **in your context** and diagnosing skill depth using **Bloom’s Taxonomy**
- Building a coaching cadence that scales (coaching as the primary job of product leadership)

**When to use**
- “Coach my PM on strategic thinking / product sense / execution.”
- “Create a PM development plan / growth plan for the next 8–12 weeks.”
- “Assess a PM’s current level and decide what to coach next.”
- “Define what ‘good PM’ means here and align on expectations.”

**When NOT to use**
- You need a formal performance-management process (PIP, HR documentation, investigation) — use your company/HR process.
- You only need 1:1 meeting design (use `running-effective-1-1s`).
- The situation is primarily a conflict/difficult feedback moment (use `having-difficult-conversations`).
- You need org-wide leveling/comp framework design (this pack can seed inputs, but it’s not the full program).

## Inputs

**Minimum required**
- Your context: role (PM manager/product leader), team/product, stage, constraints
- The PM: level/title, scope, tenure, strengths, current challenges
- Coaching goal: what must be more true in 4–12 weeks (outcomes + behaviors)
- Evidence: 2–5 examples of work (PRDs, launches, decisions, stakeholder feedback) — anonymized
- Any existing ladder/role expectations/values (if available)

**Missing-info strategy**
- Ask up to 5 questions from [references/INTAKE.md](references/INTAKE.md) (3–5 at a time).
- If role expectations or evidence are missing, proceed with explicit assumptions and label unknowns.
- Do not request sensitive personal data; use behavior/evidence summaries.

## Outputs (deliverables)

Produce a **PM Coaching Pack** (Markdown in-chat; or files if requested) in this order:

1) **Definition of “Good PM” (in this context)**  
   - Competency model + observable behaviors + Bloom depth ladder
2) **Current Assessment (evidence-based)**  
   - Strengths, gaps, current level per competency, evidence notes, constraints vs skill gaps
3) **Shared Vision (1–3 growth bets)**  
   - Target level, success signals, why it matters, timeframe
4) **Development Plan (practice loops + stretch work)**  
   - Weekly reps, stretch assignment(s), required artifacts, coaching support, timeline, measurement
5) **Coaching Cadence + Session Toolkit**  
   - 1:1 structure, coaching prompts, feedback moments, artifact review points
6) **Follow-up Tracker + Review Plan**  
   - Checkpoints, how to evaluate progress, how to adjust the plan
7) **Risks / Open questions / Next steps** (always included)

Templates: [references/TEMPLATES.md](references/TEMPLATES.md)  
Expanded guidance: [references/WORKFLOW.md](references/WORKFLOW.md)

## Workflow (8 steps)

### 1) Intake + boundaries + coaching goal
- **Inputs:** user context; [references/INTAKE.md](references/INTAKE.md).
- **Actions:** Confirm this is a coaching engagement (not HR/PIP). Define timeframe and outcomes. Choose whether to output the full pack or a subset.
- **Outputs:** Context snapshot + assumptions/unknowns.
- **Checks:** Goal is stated as observable outcomes/behaviors (not personality traits).

### 2) Define “good PM” for this role (Petra step 1)
- **Inputs:** PM role scope; company context; any existing ladder/values.
- **Actions:** Draft a context-specific competency model. For each competency, define behaviors and a Bloom ladder for skill depth (know → understand → apply → analyze → synthesize → evaluate).
- **Outputs:** Definition of “Good PM” (competencies + behaviors + Bloom levels).
- **Checks:** Expectations are observable; avoids vague labels like “be more strategic” without behaviors.

### 3) Assess current capability using evidence (Petra step 2)
- **Inputs:** work examples; feedback; self-assessment (optional).
- **Actions:** Map evidence to competencies. Assign a current Bloom level per competency. Separate skill gaps from constraints (scope, unclear mandate, lack of data/authority).
- **Outputs:** Current Assessment table.
- **Checks:** Each claimed gap has at least 1 concrete evidence bullet; uncertainties are labeled.

### 4) Choose 1–3 growth bets + shared vision (Petra step 3)
- **Inputs:** assessment; business priorities; PM aspirations (if known).
- **Actions:** Pick the highest-leverage competencies. Define target Bloom level + success signals. Align on what “good” looks like for this coaching cycle.
- **Outputs:** Shared Vision (growth bets + targets).
- **Checks:** Bets are achievable in timeframe; limit to 1–3 to avoid thrash.

### 5) Build a development plan with “reps” (Petra step 4 + Bloom)
- **Inputs:** growth bets; upcoming work; available support (mentors, tools, stakeholders).
- **Actions:** Turn each bet into practice loops: weekly reps + a stretch assignment + required artifacts. Choose reps that deliberately move up Bloom levels.
- **Outputs:** Development Plan.
- **Checks:** Every bet has (a) reps, (b) artifacts, (c) a measurement signal, (d) a coach commitment.

### 6) Design coaching cadence + session toolkit
- **Inputs:** time budget; existing 1:1 cadence; tool constraints.
- **Actions:** Propose cadence and meeting design (pre-work, agenda, artifact review points). Add coaching prompts that develop independent reasoning. Define “when to be directive” exceptions (risk/time-critical).
- **Outputs:** Coaching Cadence + Session Toolkit.
- **Checks:** Cadence is sustainable; coaching promotes autonomy (not dependency).

### 7) Follow-up loop + measurement (Petra step 5)
- **Inputs:** development plan + cadence.
- **Actions:** Create a tracker and review checkpoints. Decide how progress will be evaluated (rubric + evidence). Define how/when to adjust bets if constraints change.
- **Outputs:** Follow-up Tracker + Review Plan.
- **Checks:** Progress is measured via artifacts and behaviors, not vibes.

### 8) Quality gate + finalize pack
- **Inputs:** full draft pack.
- **Actions:** Run [references/CHECKLISTS.md](references/CHECKLISTS.md) and score with [references/RUBRIC.md](references/RUBRIC.md). Add **Risks / Open questions / Next steps**.
- **Outputs:** Final PM Coaching Pack.
- **Checks:** The next coaching session can be run using the toolkit without additional invention.

## Quality gate (required)
- Use [references/CHECKLISTS.md](references/CHECKLISTS.md) and [references/RUBRIC.md](references/RUBRIC.md).
- Always include: **Risks**, **Open questions**, **Next steps**.

## Examples

**Example 1 (strategic thinking):** “My PM is strong at execution but weak at strategy. Build an 8-week coaching plan, including an assessment and weekly reps.”  
Expected: growth bet around problem framing/insight synthesis; Bloom ladder; stretch work (opportunity assessment); cadence + artifact reviews.

**Example 2 (stakeholder leadership):** “Coach a senior PM to lead cross-functional alignment and improve exec comms.”  
Expected: bet on stakeholder mapping + decision briefs; practice reps (pre-reads, narratives); coaching prompts; review checkpoints.

**Boundary example:** “I need to start a PIP and document underperformance.”  
Response: recommend HR/performance process; optionally provide a coaching-focused development plan template only, clearly labeled as non-HR.