Learning Together - All Things Product Podcast with Teresa Torres & Petra Wille

Listen to this episode on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts

What's the best way to invest in your team's professional development — train everyone at once, let people self-direct, or something in between?

Petra Wille and Teresa Torres explore why the sweet spot might not be what most organizations default to. They share real examples from their work with product teams and leaders — from book clubs to group coaching — and make a case for small, intentional groups as a powerful (and underused) learning model.

Three Models of Team Learning

  • Train everyone at once — builds shared language, but not everyone is ready at the same time

  • Self-directed learning — works for highly motivated individuals, but lacks accountability

  • Small-group learning — the sweet spot: peer accountability, shared momentum, and just-in-time relevance

Why Learning Together Works

  • Creates natural accountability and deadlines

  • Helps people apply concepts to their own real work

  • Especially valuable for product leaders, who rarely have built-in peers to learn alongside

Group Coaching vs. One-on-One Coaching

  • Individual: sounding board, holding space, powerful questions

  • Group/team: real work in the room, peer learning, bridges between leaders who rarely collaborate

  • Keep participants as close colleagues — trust and vulnerability go up when people already know each other

Key Takeaways

  1. Start a book club — debriefing together beats reading alone

  2. Train pilot teams before rolling out org-wide

  3. Encourage duos or trios to take courses together

  4. Match your learning format to your actual goal

  5. Keep coaching groups tight for more honest, productive sessions

Resources & Links:

Mentioned in this episode:

Petra Wille