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PM Spotlight: Paru Madhavan — Coaching with Curiosity in a World of Certainty
In this episode of Product Pals Podcast, Charlotte and Kiet sit down with Paru Madhavan, Product Coach at the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), wine nerd, and systems thinker.
Paru has led teams across travel, fintech, and media, and now focuses on creating environments where people thrive and customers’ problems actually get solved. Together, we unpack the craft and calling of product coaching — what it means, how it differs from managing, and why curiosity might be the most underrated skill in modern product teams.
🔑 What you’ll hear:
1️⃣ Curiosity beats certainty. If you only remember one question, make it “Why though?” It’s the fastest route to clarity and the cheapest form of user research.
2️⃣ Coaching and managing have a lot of similarities. Her MotoGP analogy nails it — a great coach is the crew chief, not the rider. They don’t steer the bike; they tune the system so others can win the race.
3️⃣ Balance the doing and the being. There’s no “perfect role.” If your day job doesn’t feed every part of you, side projects and creative hobbies can restore the spark. ( Love this advices!)And ,Why coaching can be a fulfilling path for PMs who want impact without people management
💭 A thoughtful, human conversation that reminds us good coaching isn’t about answers — it’s about asking better questions.
🍪 Knowledge Snacks (from the episode)
John Cutler – reflections on organisational learning and systems thinking (The Beautiful Mess)
Marty Cagan – writing on leadership and the role of product managers as coaches (svpg.com)
Lisa Adkins –Book<<Coaching Agile Teams>> and the “four stances” framework
Karen Hao – The Empire of AI (book) and Youtube interview
Akash Gupta – newsletter The Neuron (daily AI + PM updates)
🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube — search Product Pals Podcast.
View all episodes
By Charlotte Bian, Kiet TruongIn this episode of Product Pals Podcast, Charlotte and Kiet sit down with Paru Madhavan, Product Coach at the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), wine nerd, and systems thinker.
Paru has led teams across travel, fintech, and media, and now focuses on creating environments where people thrive and customers’ problems actually get solved. Together, we unpack the craft and calling of product coaching — what it means, how it differs from managing, and why curiosity might be the most underrated skill in modern product teams.
🔑 What you’ll hear:
1️⃣ Curiosity beats certainty. If you only remember one question, make it “Why though?” It’s the fastest route to clarity and the cheapest form of user research.
2️⃣ Coaching and managing have a lot of similarities. Her MotoGP analogy nails it — a great coach is the crew chief, not the rider. They don’t steer the bike; they tune the system so others can win the race.
3️⃣ Balance the doing and the being. There’s no “perfect role.” If your day job doesn’t feed every part of you, side projects and creative hobbies can restore the spark. ( Love this advices!)And ,Why coaching can be a fulfilling path for PMs who want impact without people management
💭 A thoughtful, human conversation that reminds us good coaching isn’t about answers — it’s about asking better questions.
🍪 Knowledge Snacks (from the episode)
John Cutler – reflections on organisational learning and systems thinking (The Beautiful Mess)
Marty Cagan – writing on leadership and the role of product managers as coaches (svpg.com)
Lisa Adkins –Book<<Coaching Agile Teams>> and the “four stances” framework
Karen Hao – The Empire of AI (book) and Youtube interview
Akash Gupta – newsletter The Neuron (daily AI + PM updates)
🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube — search Product Pals Podcast.