For product leaders, focusing solely on revenue can be short-sighted. Instead, optimising for learning creates the foundation that makes sustainable growth possible. Revenue, profit, and meaningful outcomes follow naturally when learning is prioritised
Learning allows teams to iterate, build customer-centric products, and adapt to uncertain and rapidly changing markets. Cultures that prioritise learning get the best from the humans in your teams. People feel safe to take risks and are motivated by personal growth
Here’s why and how product leaders should make learning the core of their product culture.
Create psychological safety
If you want a team that learns, the first priority is psychological safety. When people feel safe, they’re more open to acknowledging mistakes, experimenting, and sharing new ideas. Encourage curiosity – let your team know that every “failure” is an opportunity to learn and improve.
Think about your own team: have you openly shared a mistake you’ve made recently? Leading by example shows that vulnerability is accepted and valued. Psychological safety starts with you and actions speak louder than words
Step outside comfort zones
Growth doesn’t happen without discomfort. Encouraging yourself and your team to consistently take small steps outside your comfort zones is a powerful way to learn. Discomfort might mean taking giant leaps (which is great!) but for most, taking small and consistent steps is less overwhelming and just as impactful.
For example, I remember a time when I had to present a product visiontype to an audience of over 700 people. That felt like a giant leap so in the months before I took smaller, consistent steps to practice sharing the visiontype on my own, with my team and then with colleagues outside my team. Every time I spoke I learned which meant I iterated for the next session, feeling more confident each time.
It was that consistency that helped me clearly and confidently deliver when the big day arrived. I even shared my immediate reflections on LinkedIn :)
Treat decisions as bets or experiments
One way to reframe your team’s approach to decision-making is to treat decisions as bets or experiments. This mindset helps remove the pressure of “getting it right” and shifts the focus to gathering insights.
Ask yourself: What underlying assumptions are we making here? How can we test those assumptions with minimal risk? Developing hypotheses and then running experiments to validate (or falsify) those hypotheses builds a culture of continuous learning. Remember, experiments aren’t about winning or losing—they’re about gathering the insignt needed to move forward.
Seek evidence to test hypotheses
Evidence is the key to learning—it’s what allows you to adapt with confidence. Encourage your team to seek out data that falsifies assumptions as much as data that confirms them. This balanced approach makes it less likely that your team will fall into the trap of confirmation bias.
In team discussions, try framing challenges as hypotheses and actively ask for evidence. The goal isn’t to prove anyone right or wrong but to have enough insight to make the best decision at that moment.
Track learning and identify patterns
Learning is maximised when it’s shared “out loud” – in other words when it’s highly visible. Make a habit of keeping track of your experiments, hypotheses, and the outcomes. Documenting and sharing these insights helps teams recognise patterns over time.
Think of this as creating a shared knowledge base. It’s not just about running experiments; it’s also about reflecting on them. What themes are emerging from your team’s recent work? How can those insights inform your next steps? If a member of your team left, how would it feel to have much of their knowledge captured?
What next…
Optimising for learning means shifting from a mindset of “getting it done” (delivery) to one of “learning why and what the right thing is” (continuous discovery). Product leaders who create the conditions for discovery set themselves and teams up for a cascade of positive outcomes, both for the organisation and the individuals on those teams
If you need help optimising your product culture for learning, get in touch.
How else do you optimise for learning in your team?
