Given I am looking for work (again) and have decided to commit to the idea of hanging out my own shingle as a ‘product coach’ for the foreseeable future I thought I would try and articulate what I bring to the table – because it might not quite be what people expect.

Increasingly my ‘practice’ is a response to, and rejection of, a couple of prevailing trends in the wider product management world;

1. the wholehearted embrace of [Gen]AI in every corner of the work – from discovery to delivery.
2. the growing specificity/specialism/siloisation of ‘Product Management™’ – with a common toolbox of workshops, frameworks and canvases and a dogmatic belief in ‘the right way’ to do things. 

Now I am not actually fervently anti-AI (just a bit cynical and disinterested) and I lean on my share of workshops, frameworks and canvases but I definitely see ‘product’ as more humanities than science – in fact I suspect that sums up my whole approach – it is ‘human first’.

I still hold the slightly old fashioned view of ‘product people’ as generalists, as the ‘glue’. As facilitators holding space for insight from all team members not dictators (not even benevolent ones.)

So what is it I do then?

My goal is to help product people (in public service) find their own voices. Their own approach.

I provide a sounding board – I have more than two decades of experience so I have seen most things at this point. I understand the challenges of trying to bring product thinking to organisations where it is an alien way of working.

I offer advice, suggestions and pointers. I nudge, recommend and occasionally cajole. I show but don’t tell and I try to avoid training or teaching as there are people better at that – and I can recommend them (though I do more talking at folks than I should!)

There are characteristics I try to encourage in product people (and that I look for when I recruit) – 

• Curiosity
• Openness
• Clarity 
• Decisiveness 
• Empathy
• Open mindedness 

Gaining the confidence to have ‘strong opinions, loosely held’ and to ‘influence without authority’.

Now obviously there are some more specific things I work through with people – either in person or in groups. I have opinions on, approaches to and recommendations for – 

• Knowing your role(s) and how it fits in with the wider ecosystem 
• Understanding and creating Visions & Missions 
• The difference between Outcomes vs Outputs 
• …and between Roadmaps vs Delivery Plans (and what good looks like for all of them)
• Prioritisation (for teams…and for teams of teams)
• Influencing & advocating (without authority) 
• Agile Comms (especially blogging and presentations)
• ..and just working agile rather than Doing Agile™

Amongst other things!

So that is what I do – give or take.

There is more (I also particularly enjoy helping with recruitment) but I think this sufficiently sets out my stall.

If you think I can be useful to your team or organisation you can book a chat.