# Pm Coach

> |

- **Type:** Skill
- **Install:** `agentstack add skill-qingxuantang-lennys-to-sop-and-skills-pm-coach`
- **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior
- **Seller:** [qingxuantang](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/qingxuantang)
- **Installs:** 0
- **Category:** [Agent Skills](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/agent-skills)
- **Latest version:** 0.1.0
- **License:** MIT
- **Upstream author:** [qingxuantang](https://github.com/qingxuantang)
- **Source:** https://github.com/qingxuantang/Lennys-to-sop-and-skills/tree/master/skills/pm-coach

## Install

```sh
agentstack add skill-qingxuantang-lennys-to-sop-and-skills-pm-coach
```

Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent.

## About

# PM Coach Skill

Help product managers develop their skills, advance their careers, and improve their craft.

## When This Skill Activates
- "How do I grow as a PM?"
- "What PM skills should I develop?"
- "How do I give better feedback?"
- "I want to improve my product sense"
- "How do I run better product reviews?"
- "What level PM am I?"
- "How do I become more high agency?"
- "Career advice for PMs"

## Framework Selection Guide

| Situation | Use This Framework |
|-----------|-------------------|
| Career development planning | PM Competencies |
| Building product intuition | Product Sense Development |
| Understanding where to focus energy | Three Levels of Work |
| Developing ownership mindset | High Agency |
| Giving design/product feedback | Design Feedback Framework |
| Running effective product reviews | Product Review Best Practices |

---

## Framework 1: PM Competencies (12 Skills)

**Source**: Ravi Mehta - Lenny's Podcast
**Key Insight**: The same 12 competencies apply from APM to CPO—only the scope changes.

### The 12 Competencies in 4 Areas

**Product Execution** (Building Product)
1. **Functional Specification** - Writing clear PRDs and specs
2. **Product Delivery** - Working with eng/design to ship
3. **Product Quality** - Ensuring high quality output

**Customer Insight** (Understanding Users)
4. **Fluency with Data** - Using data to make decisions
5. **Voice of the Customer** - Customer conversations, research
6. **User Experience Design** - Thinking about UX in detail

**Product Strategy** (Setting Direction)
7. **Business Outcome Ownership** - Connecting features to metrics
8. **Product Vision & Roadmapping** - Creating coherent vision
9. **Strategic Impact** - Moving strategy forward

**Influencing People** (Leading Without Authority)
10. **Stakeholder Inclusion** - Working cross-functionally
11. **Team Leadership** - Managing and developing others
12. **Managing Up** - Winning leadership support

### Self-Assessment Process

**Step 1: Rate Yourself (0-2 scale)**
- Needs Focus (0-0.5)
- On Track (1.0)
- Outperforming (1.5-2.0)

**Step 2: Get Manager Assessment**
- Ask manager to rate same competencies
- Compare ratings
- Discuss differences

**Step 3: Identify Patterns**
Common PM archetypes:
| Archetype | Strong | Growth Areas |
|-----------|--------|--------------|
| Growth PM | Data, Outcomes | UX, Vision |
| Discovery PM | Customer, UX | Data, Delivery |
| Technical PM | Delivery, Quality | Strategy |
| Strategic PM | Vision, Strategy | Execution |

**Step 4: Create Development Plan**
Focus on 1-2 competencies per quarter.

### Pitfalls to Avoid
- Treating all competencies equally (role matters)
- Only focusing on weaknesses
- Skipping external perspective
- Ignoring scope changes by level

---

## Framework 2: Product Sense Development

**Source**: Julie Zhuo - Lenny's Podcast
**Key Insight**: Product sense is pattern recognition built through deliberate practice, not innate talent.

### What is Product Sense?
The ability to:
- Predict what users want before they know it
- Identify good solutions to user problems
- Recognize patterns across products and domains
- Make sound product judgments quickly

### Development Methods

**Method 1: Product Teardowns**
1. Pick a successful product
2. Ask: Why does this work?
3. Identify key decisions and their effects
4. Compare to alternatives

**Method 2: Prediction Practice**
1. Before seeing data, predict outcomes
2. Compare predictions to reality
3. Analyze why you were right/wrong
4. Adjust mental models

**Method 3: Cross-Domain Learning**
1. Study products outside your domain
2. Extract transferable patterns
3. Apply to your context

**Method 4: User Observation**
1. Watch users interact with products
2. Note surprises and confirmations
3. Build intuition through exposure

### Building Blocks of Product Sense
- User empathy (understanding needs)
- Domain expertise (knowing the space)
- Pattern recognition (seeing what works)
- First principles thinking (why things work)

### Pitfalls to Avoid
- Thinking product sense is innate
- Not practicing deliberately
- Only studying your own domain
- Ignoring disconfirming evidence

---

## Framework 3: Three Levels of Product Work

**Source**: Shreyas Doshi - Lenny's Podcast
**Key Insight**: Most PMs focus on Execution when they should focus on Impact.

### The Three Levels

**Level 1: Impact Work** (Highest leverage)
- Choosing WHAT to work on
- Setting direction and priorities
- Defining success criteria
- Strategic decisions

**Level 2: Execution Work** (Where most PMs live)
- HOW to build what was decided
- Project management
- Shipping features
- Day-to-day coordination

**Level 3: Optics Work** (Necessary but dangerous)
- How work is PERCEIVED
- Status updates and reporting
- Stakeholder management
- Internal communication

### The Problem
Most PMs spend:
- 60% on Execution
- 30% on Optics
- 10% on Impact

Should spend:
- 40% on Impact
- 40% on Execution
- 20% on Optics

### How to Shift to Impact Work

**Step 1: Audit Your Calendar**
- Categorize each meeting/task by level
- Calculate current distribution

**Step 2: Identify Impact Opportunities**
- What strategic questions are unanswered?
- What prioritization decisions need making?
- Where is direction unclear?

**Step 3: Delegate or Eliminate**
- Delegate Execution work where possible
- Eliminate low-value Optics work
- Protect time for Impact work

**Step 4: Make Impact Work Visible**
- Impact work is invisible by default
- Document and share strategic thinking
- Help leadership see your Impact work

### Pitfalls to Avoid
- Confusing busyness with impact
- Neglecting Optics entirely (you need some)
- Waiting for permission to do Impact work
- Doing Impact work but not communicating it

---

## Framework 4: High Agency Development

**Source**: Shreyas Doshi - Lenny's Podcast
**Key Insight**: High agency people find a way to get things done regardless of obstacles.

### What is High Agency?
- Finding a way when there's no obvious path
- Taking ownership beyond job description
- Creative problem-solving around obstacles
- Bias toward action over waiting

### Three Dimensions of High Agency

**1. Ownership**
- Treating the problem as fully yours
- Not waiting for permission
- Filling gaps others ignore
- "If not me, who?"

**2. Creative Execution**
- Finding unconventional solutions
- Working around blockers
- Leveraging resources creatively
- Not accepting "can't be done"

**3. Resilience**
- Persisting through setbacks
- Learning from failures
- Maintaining momentum
- Not letting obstacles stop you

### Developing High Agency

**Practice 1: Expand Your Circle of Influence**
- Start with what you CAN control
- Gradually expand what you take ownership of
- Don't wait to be asked

**Practice 2: Reframe Obstacles**
- "I can't because X" → "How might I despite X?"
- "They won't let me" → "How do I build the case?"
- "It's not my job" → "What if I made it my job?"

**Practice 3: Build a Bias for Action**
- When in doubt, try something
- Small experiments beat long debates
- Learn by doing, not just analyzing

**Practice 4: Seek Feedback on Agency**
- Ask: "Where did I wait when I could have acted?"
- Ask: "Where did I accept an obstacle too easily?"

### High Agency vs. Low Agency Responses

| Situation | Low Agency | High Agency |
|-----------|------------|-------------|
| Need data but no analyst | Wait for analyst | Learn SQL, get data yourself |
| Engineering says impossible | Accept it | Ask "what would make it possible?" |
| No budget | Don't do it | Find creative alternatives |
| Stakeholder blocking | Give up | Understand their concerns, find win-win |

### Pitfalls to Avoid
- Confusing high agency with ignoring rules
- Burning bridges in pursuit of outcomes
- Not knowing when to escalate vs. solve
- Burnout from taking on too much

---

## Framework 5: Design Feedback Framework

**Source**: Julie Zhuo - Lenny's Podcast
**Key Insight**: Good feedback climbs the ladder from Reaction to Solution to Problem.

### The Feedback Ladder

**Level 1: Reaction** (Lowest value)
- "I don't like it"
- "This feels off"
- "I'm not sure about this"

**Level 2: Solution** (Medium value)
- "What if we made the button blue?"
- "Can we move this to the top?"
- "Add a confirmation dialog"

**Level 3: Problem** (Highest value)
- "I'm worried users won't notice this"
- "This seems to add friction to checkout"
- "The hierarchy feels unclear"

### Giving Better Feedback

**Step 1: Notice Your Reaction**
- Pay attention to your gut response
- Don't immediately voice it

**Step 2: Identify the Problem**
- What's causing your reaction?
- What user need isn't being met?
- What principle is being violated?

**Step 3: Share the Problem, Not Solution**
```
Instead of: "Make the button bigger"
Say: "I'm worried users might miss this CTA—it seems lost
in the page hierarchy"
```

**Step 4: If Offering Solutions, Offer Multiple**
- Provide 2-3 possible solutions
- Makes it clear it's a suggestion, not a mandate
- Enables better alternatives to emerge

### Receiving Feedback

**Step 1: Listen Fully**
- Don't interrupt or defend
- Take notes

**Step 2: Clarify the Problem**
- "What's the concern behind that suggestion?"
- "Help me understand what's not working"

**Step 3: Acknowledge, Then Respond**
- "I hear your concern about X"
- Then explain your thinking or agree to iterate

### Pitfalls to Avoid
- Giving solution-level feedback (too prescriptive)
- Reacting defensively to feedback
- Not clarifying the underlying problem
- Ignoring feedback because delivery was poor

---

## Framework 6: Product Review Best Practices

**Source**: Ami Vora - Lenny's Podcast
**Key Insight**: Leaders give "dinosaur brain" feedback when they haven't experienced the problem first.

### The Dinosaur Brain Problem
- Leaders react instinctively without context
- Project personal preferences onto users
- Miss the underlying problem being solved
- Create whiplash for teams

### The Right Review Structure

**Part 1: Problem Immersion (5-10 min)**
Make the reviewer FEEL the problem:
- User quote compilations
- Live demo of pain points
- Data visualization of the problem
- Video clips of users struggling

**Part 2: Approach Discussion (10-15 min)**
Align on HOW you're solving before showing WHAT:
- Problem statement (verified in Part 1)
- Solution principles
- Alternatives considered
- Why this approach

**Part 3: Solution Review (10-15 min)**
Now show the solution:
- Walk through the design
- Highlight key decisions with rationale
- Show what you chose NOT to do
- Present success metrics

**Part 4: Feedback (10-15 min)**
Guide better feedback:
- "Does this approach match the problem?"
- "What risks haven't we addressed?"
- "Where do you disagree with tradeoffs?"

### The "Fascinating" Technique
When you get feedback you disagree with:
1. Say (internally): "Fascinating"
2. Ask: "Tell me more about why you think that"
3. Seek the underlying concern
4. Then respond constructively

### Redirecting Dinosaur Brain Feedback

| Dinosaur Brain | Redirect |
|----------------|----------|
| "I don't like the blue" | "What about it concerns you?" |
| "Can we add X?" | "How would that help the problem we defined?" |
| "My wife said Y" | "Does that match our user research?" |

### Pitfalls to Avoid
- Skipping problem immersion
- Showing solution before approach alignment
- Treating all feedback as equal
- Getting defensive

---

## How to Apply This Skill

1. **Listen for the development area**
   - Career planning → PM Competencies
   - Building intuition → Product Sense
   - Time management → Three Levels
   - Ownership → High Agency
   - Design collaboration → Feedback Framework
   - Stakeholder reviews → Product Reviews

2. **Walk through the selected framework** with actionable steps

3. **Help them create a concrete development plan**

4. **Offer to combine frameworks** when appropriate

## Related Skills
- `/leadership-coach` - For management and team development
- `/strategy-advisor` - For strategic thinking development
- `/decision-maker` - For decision-making skills

## Full SOPs (Deep Dives)

### Core PM Skills
- [PM Competencies](../../../sops/product-management/skills/pm-competencies-framework-001.md)
- [Product Sense](../../../sops/product-management/skills/product-sense-development-001.md)
- [Three Levels of Work](../../../sops/product-management/skills/three-levels-product-work-001.md)
- [High Agency](../../../sops/product-management/skills/high-agency-development-001.md)
- [Design Feedback](../../../sops/product-management/skills/design-feedback-framework-001.md)
- [Product Reviews](../../../sops/product-management/skills/product-review-best-practices-001.md)
- [PM Storytelling](../../../sops/product-management/skills/pm-storytelling-synthesis-001.md)
- [Ownership of Why](../../../sops/product-management/skills/pm-ownership-of-why-001.md)
- [Consumer Product Intuition](../../../sops/product-management/skills/consumer-product-intuition-development-001.md)
- [Decision Prioritization](../../../sops/product-management/skills/decision-prioritization-framework-001.md)
- [Writing for Influence](../../../sops/product-management/skills/writing-for-product-influence-001.md)
- [Platform PM Principles](../../../sops/product-management/skills/platform-pm-principles-001.md)
- [PM Career Acceleration](../../../sops/product-management/skills/pm-career-acceleration-001.md)
- [Golden Gut Development](../../../sops/product-management/skills/golden-gut-development-001.md)
- [First Mile Experience](../../../sops/product-management/skills/first-mile-product-experience-001.md)
- [Perceived Simplicity](../../../sops/product-management/skills/perceived-simplicity-design-001.md)
- [Product Quality Dogfooding](../../../sops/product-management/skills/product-quality-through-dogfooding-001.md)
- [Proximity to Customers](../../../sops/product-management/skills/proximity-to-customers-framework-001.md)

### AI Product Development
- [AI Era Product Development](../../../sops/product-management/skills/ai-era-product-development-001.md)
- [AI Differentiation Strategy](../../../sops/product-management/strategy/ai-product-differentiation-strategy-001.md)

### Discovery & Validation
- [Empowered Teams](../../../sops/product-management/discovery/empowered-product-team-transformation-001.md)
- [Opportunity Solution Tree](../../../sops/product-management/discovery/opportunity-solution-tree-framework-001.md)
- [Lean MVP](../../../sops/product-management/discovery/lean-startup-mvp-development-001.md)
- [Build-Measure-Learn](../../../sops/product-management/discovery/build-measure-learn-loop-001.md)
- [PMF Measurement](../../../sops/product-management/discovery/product-market-fit-measurement-001.md)
- [Design Sprint](../../../sops/product-management/discovery/five-day-design-sprint-framework-001.md)

### Behavioral Design
- [Three Bs Behavioral Design](../../../sops/product-management/design/three-bs-behavioral-design-framework-001.md)
- [Friction Audit](../../../sops/product-management/design/behavioral-diagnosis-friction-audit-001.md)
- [Default Optimization](../../../sops/product-management/design/default-optimization-behavior-change-001.md)

### Delivery Methodology
- [Shape Up Overview](../../../sops/product-management/delivery/shape-up-methodology-overview-001.md)
- [Six-Week Cycles](../../../sops/product-management/delivery/six-week-cycles-framework-001.md)
- [Hill Charts](../../../sops/product-management/delivery/hill-charts-progress-tracking-001.md)

### Roadmapping
- [Now-Next-Later](../../../sops/product-management/roadmapping/now-next-later-roadmap-framework-001.md)
- [Stakeholder Alignment](../../../sops/product-management/roadmapping/stakeholder-alignment-roadmaps-001.md)
- [Feature Request Management](../../../sops/product-management/roadmapping/feature-request-management-001.md)

## Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [qingxuantang](https://github.com/qingxuantang)
- **Source:** [qingxuantang/Lennys-to-sop-and-skills](https://github.com/qingxuantang/Lennys-to-sop-and-skills)
- **License:** MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.

## Pricing

- **Free** — Free

## Security capabilities

Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access:

- **Network access:** no
- **Filesystem access:** no
- **Shell / process execution:** no
- **Environment & secrets:** no
- **Dynamic code execution:** no

*"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.*


## Versions

- **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source.

## Links

- Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-qingxuantang-lennys-to-sop-and-skills-pm-coach
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/qingxuantang
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

---
Listed on AgentStack — the marketplace for AI agent skills and MCP servers. Every listing is security-reviewed. Creators keep 70%.