Petra Wille
Independent product leadership coach and author based in Hamburg, Germany. Focuses on the middle layer of product organisations — first-line managers, directors, and team leads — rather than IC PMs or C-suite executives.
Background
- Author of Strong Product People: A Complete Guide to Developing Great Product Managers.
- ~130 one-on-one coaching clients; ~150 through group coaching programmes. Estimates broader ripple impact of roughly 50,000–60,000 people via coaching hierarchies.
- Organises product community events in Hamburg, including the Product Engage conference.
- Former focus areas: product discovery coaching for teams, then IC PM coaching, now product leadership coaching.
- Marty Cagan served as her product coach early in her career.
Frameworks
- PMwheel — eight-bucket PM capability assessment (understanding problems, solutions, planning, getting things done, listening and learning, teamwork, personal growth, agile practices). Used for self-, manager, and peer assessment.
- Five ingredients for coaching PMs — compass (definition of good), current assessment, shared vision, development plan, follow-up.
- Community canvas — framework for designing and reviewing internal communities of practice.