Leaders Must Learn New Ways First

Topics We Cover:

• Why teams finish discovery training… and then nothing changes
• The missing piece in most transformations: leadership habits
• The organizational friction that shows up when teams start interviewing customers
• How outdated “my job is to tell teams what to build” mindsets hold companies back
• Why hierarchy clashes with modern product practices (and why “all ideas come equal”)
• Why product culture has to be intentionally created, not assumed
• The leadership skills gap — most product leaders never learned continuous discovery themselves
• How pilot teams surface hidden organizational obstacles and trigger the corporate “immune system”
• A look at Petra’s Product Leadership Wheel and why orgs need clearer expectations for product leaders
• Teresa & Hope’s new Product Operating Model guide
• A preview of the Discovery Habits Toolbox and how it supports leaders coaching discovery teams

Key Takeaways:

• Skills training isn’t enough. If leaders still manage through feature requests and roadmaps, teams will abandon discovery — even if they loved the training.
• Leaders need training too. They must know how to evaluate discovery work, how to talk about outcomes, and how to create rituals that reinforce new habits.
• Discovery uncovers conflicts. Sales, account management, stakeholders, and execs all feel impacted when teams start bringing real customer evidence to the table.
• Product leadership is a craft. It requires clarity, systems, and cultural stewardship — not just seniority.
• Transformations should start with leaders and pilot teams, because that’s where the hidden blockers surface.

Resources & Links:

• Follow Teresa Torres: https://ProductTalk.org
• Follow Petra Wille: https://Petra-Wille.com

Mentioned in this episode:

• Product Talk Academy’s Train Your Team by Teresa Torres
• Melissa Perri’s “Train leaders first, not last.” Linkedin post
• Coaching for Product Leaders/Executives by Petra Wille
• Product Leadership Wheel by Petra
• What Makes a Great Product Culture? A Guide for Product Leaders blog post by Petra
• Story-Based Customer Interviews on demand course by Teresa
• An idea board—do we see enough potential? and Four Taskboards in a simple illustration: Idea Board, Product Overview Board, Product Discovery Board and Development Team Board - Illustrations taken from Petra’s blog: Opportunity Assessment: Do We Want to Invest in Discovering This Idea?
• Is Your Organization Ready to Adopt the Product Operating Model? blog post by Teresa with Hope Gurion
• The Product Operating Model Explained: From Pilot Teams to Full Transformation by Melissa Suzuno on Product Talk
• Community of Practice by Petra
• TRANSFORMED: Moving to the Product Operating Model and EMPOWERED: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Products books by Marty Cagan