The Great Product Owner: The Power of Partnership between PO and SM in support of the Agile Team
In this segment, we discuss the need to focus on, and develop a great partnership between a Product Owner (PO) and Scrum Master (SM). Oz shares the example of such a partnership, where the conversation between PO and SM focused on the value that the team can deliver. The PO was new to Agile but had an open mind and was an expert in the product domain. The PO was a natural leader and encouraged the team to pull stories from the backlog. He also asked the team to bring their perspective into the prioritization of the backlog. The PO acknowledged the team at every opportunity and brought an appreciation culture into the team. Oz highlights the importance of having a great partnership between the PO and SM, which is the main requirement for a successful Agile team.
The Bad Product Owner: The Importance of Empathy in Product Owner-Scrum Master Relationships
In this segment, Oz discusses the challenges of working with a product owner who lacks a product mindset and is more focused on tasks than the product vision. This can lead to them “making up” work and not prioritizing tasks effectively.
Oz suggested a few tips for dealing with bad POs. First, he recommended asking about prioritization and trying to understand the PO’s background. He also advised having a 1-on-1 coaching session with the PO to help them develop a better understanding of their role and how to prioritize tasks effectively.
Additionally, Oz emphasized the importance of focusing on empathy between the PO and the team. By fostering a positive relationship and working collaboratively, the PO and team can work together to ensure that the product is delivered effectively and meets the needs of stakeholders. Overall, Oz’s advice for dealing with this type of POs is to approach the situation with understanding and empathy, while also providing coaching and support to help the PO develop a product mindset and prioritize tasks effectively.
The Ultimate Guide to Supporting Product Owners as a Scrum Master
Are you having trouble helping the team work well with their Product Owner? We’ve put together a course to help you work on the collaboration team-product owner. You can find it at bit.ly/coachyourpo. 18 modules, 8+ hours of modules with tools and techniques that you can use to help teams and PO’s collaborate.
About Oguz Ozyurt
Oz came from a technical background, and has worked across multiple industries, applying agile practices toward the technical and non-technical areas. He is passionate about agile, he has leveraged his passion for delivery value and agile practices by coaching, teaching, mentoring many teams to transform from traditional software development life cycle to Agile principles and practices.
You can link with Oguz Ozyurt on LinkedIn.
