The Great Product Owner: The Co-Leader Who Mastered the PO Stances
“Co-leadership means both sharing leadership in a lateral way, not a disciplinary way—the PO owns the technical part, the Scrum Master the organizational part.” – Havva Sevay
Havva’s best Product Owner already understood co-leadership—and went further. He used the Product Owner stances from Scrum.org as a feedback tool, asking the team to rate him on each stance (customer representative, company representative, and so on) with a percentage, then using that input to improve his skills deliberately.
It’s the same mindset Scrum Masters can adopt with their own stances: be aware of the options, get honest feedback, and adapt to the context, because the right stance changes over time. A great PO, in Havva’s experience, treats their role as a skill set to be developed in partnership—not a title to defend.
Self-reflection Question: Could the PO stances become a feedback tool in your team—and would you be willing to be rated on your own Scrum Master stances?
The Bad Product Owner: “The Scrum Master Is My Secretary”
“The worst is the PO who believes he’s the product manager and the Scrum Master is the secretary. I said: I’m not your assistant, I don’t bring your coffee.” – Havva Sevay
The worst anti-pattern Havva has lived through is the Product Owner who treats the Scrum Master as a secretary—there to share the screen, organize the meeting, and take orders. Havva confronted it directly in a one-on-one: this is upside down. My job is to teach self-organization, not to be your assistant. But she didn’t stop at the boundary—she helped the PO understand her role and walked in his shoes too, even sending him to a Scrum Master training while she experienced his responsibilities.
Her strongest recommendation: from the very first meeting with a Product Owner, talk explicitly about who does what, surface expectations, and agree how you’ll work together. Don’t assume they know your job—or that you know theirs. The way out of the “secretary” trap is co-leadership: lateral, shared leadership built on time and trust.
Self-reflection Question: Have you ever explicitly agreed with your Product Owner on who is responsible for what—or are you both operating on untested assumptions?
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About Havva Sevay
Havva is a people-focused organizational development expert with a Master’s in Business Administration and certification as a Scrum Master. She empowers teams and leaders through agile methodologies, modern leadership, and a strong feedback culture, fostering psychological safety and collaboration. Passionate about HR initiatives, Havva shapes people strategies, enhances employee experience, and drives inclusive, high-performing workplaces built on trust and engagement.
You can link with Havva Sevay on LinkedIn.
