Training vs. Coaching - All Things Product Podcast with Teresa Torres & Petra Wille

Listen to this episode on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts

What’s the difference between product training and product coaching—and why does it matter?

In this episode, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres unpack a topic that comes up all the time in product orgs: when do individuals and teams need structured training, and when is it time to bring in a coach? They walk through the core differences, share frameworks to help you decide what kind of support your team actually needs, and explore the skill-building journey from reading a book to mastering advanced discovery practices.

Whether you’re an individual contributor trying to sharpen your discovery skills or a product leader wondering how to support your team, this episode breaks it all down with clarity and real-world examples.

Tune in to learn:

✅ Why this conversation matters: Coaching is trendy, but is it always the right tool?
✅ Defining the difference between knowledge (training) and capability (skill-building)
✅ The role of flipped classrooms and experiential learning in product training
✅ Petra’s take on when coaching becomes valuable (hint: it’s not step one)
✅ Teresa’s 3 learning stages: concept, practice, and applying in context
✅ Why training is often a better starting point than coaching
✅ The case for community of practice as a “training alternative”
✅ When coaching really shines: dealing with org-specific or context-heavy challenges
✅ Coaching as a shortcut for product leaders (and the gap in leadership training)
✅ How coaching and training can work together — especially in scaled orgs
✅ Teresa’s flipped classroom model in practice (what it looks like in her courses)
✅ What makes a great product coach (hint: it’s not just experience at big-name companies)
✅ 7,500+ product coaches on LinkedIn?! A teaser for an upcoming episode on how to choose one

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:

Mentioned in the episode:

Petra Wille