proxy po Archives - Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast

Olaitan Fashanu: The Product Owner Who Doesn’t Care vs the PO Who Always Has the Answer

In this episode, we refer to a recurring theme in past podcast episodes—the proxy product owner who can’t make decisions because they’re not theirs to make.

The Great Product Owner: Always Available, Always Decisive, Always Has the Context

“There was nothing you tell, any questions you have about a particular feature that this guy doesn’t have an answer to. And that really moved the team so fast.” – Olaitan Fashanu

The best PO Olaitan ever worked with was the mirror opposite of every anti-pattern he’d seen. Deeply involved in refinement. Took backlog management seriously. Always brought the context.

Always available to the team. And—maybe most importantly—always ready to make a decision when devs surfaced trade-offs. The team could ask any question about any feature, and the answer was right there.

Not “let me check,” not “I’ll get back to you,” not “what do you think?”—a decision. That single quality, Olaitan says, was what moved the team faster than anything else. As a Scrum Master, when you see a great PO at work, you also see the amplifying waves of impact: motivation rises, quality rises, ownership grows. Olaitan’s takeaway is sharp: the success of our job depends on how well the product owner does theirs.

Self-reflection Question: When was the last time your PO made a real-time decision that unblocked the team in a single conversation—and what’s preventing that from being the norm?

The Bad Product Owner: Doesn’t Care About Impact, Can’t Make Decisions

“The product owner cares about delivery. We just need to release to the customer. That is something I don’t like.” – Olaitan Fashanu

Olaitan describes two anti-patterns wrapped into one bad-PO type. The first: the PO who doesn’t care about the impact of their work on the team. Tickets dropped without context. No refinement. No problem framing. Just “ship by end of month.” The data shows up in Jira if you’re paying attention—patterns of churn, quality issues, customer complaints, slow market response.

Beyond the numbers, the team loses motivation, frustration creeps in, and eventually you lose the team entirely. The second anti-pattern, layered on top: the PO who can’t make decisions. Developers come back with two options and the trade-offs—and the PO can’t pick one.

Vasco connects it to the proxy PO pattern explored in past episodes—a PO whose decisions aren’t actually theirs to make. The cost is the same either way: the team stalls, ownership erodes, and stakeholder conflict grows.

In this segment, we refer to the proxy PO anti-pattern explored in earlier episodes of the podcast.

Self-reflection Question: Is your PO unable to decide—or unable to be allowed to decide? The difference changes which conversation you need to have, and with whom.

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About Olaitan Fashanu

Olaitan Fashanu is a customer-focused professional with expertise in product management, technology, and coaching. He drives digital and agile transformation, builds collaborative cross-functional teams, and delivers high-quality products across markets. Curious and strategic, he explores AI and data intelligence while balancing technical depth, business goals, culture, structure, and long-term vision.

You can link with Olaitan Fashanu on LinkedIn.

Iryna Stelmakh: The Firewall Product Owner, Turning PO Anti-Patterns Into Opportunities for Growth

The Great Product Owner: Market-Oriented and Vision-Driven

“Great product owners don’t just manage backlog items — they own the product vision and make sure the team understands how their work creates real value.” — Iryna Stelmakh

Iryna describes the best product owners she’s worked with through three qualities. First, they understand the market and the users deeply. Second, they can explain the business logic behind decisions — not just what to build, but why it matters. Third, they work closely with the team and treat them as partners in solving problems, not executors of tasks. The best PO Iryna worked with was responsible for sharing the business mindset, giving the team perspective and the possibility to contribute beyond the technical work. Everything was organized around a shared goal, and the team understood how their work created real value. As Vasco observes, when a PO just drops tasks without explaining why they matter, the team becomes “just a pair of hands.” Great product owners create allegiance through understanding.

Self-reflection Question: Does your product owner share enough business context that your team could independently suggest features or improvements — or are they only able to execute what they’re told?

The Bad Product Owner: The Firewall Who Blocks All Business Context

“We were working without the product mindset, without the product vision.” — Iryna Stelmakh

Iryna shares the story of what she calls the Firewall Product Owner — a PO who constantly said “I need to go ask someone” for every decision, but never brought back answers. The result: backlog items lacked clarity, priorities changed frequently, and the team couldn’t understand the real product direction. They were working without a product mindset or vision. As Vasco frames it, this PO wasn’t just a proxy — they were a firewall, blocking the team from accessing any business context or market knowledge. The team couldn’t reach the market representatives because they didn’t even know who was on the other side.

Iryna’s approach to this kind of situation: escalate with suggestions, not just complaints. Turn problems into opportunities and extensions — propose bringing in a business analyst to support the PO, or suggest restructuring the communication between the business and technical sides. In her case, the client eventually recognized the problem and replaced the PO with someone who could actually bridge the gap. The new PO changed everything.

In this episode, we also refer to the concept of turning problems into opportunities.

Self-reflection Question: When your product owner is unable to provide timely answers, do you escalate with specific suggestions for improvement — or do you simply wait and hope things get better?

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About Iryna Stelmakh

IRYNA Stelmakh is a Project & Delivery Leader and Agile Coach who helps leaders turn complexity into clarity. With 10+ years across US, Nordic, and Eastern European environments, she works at the intersection of business transformation and human systems, building resilient organizations and high-performing teams in complex contexts.

You can link with Iryna Stelmakh on LinkedIn.

Anh Vu: The Hidden Cost of Decision-Making Delays in Product Development

The Great Product Owner: The Strategic Connector

Anh describes an exceptional Product Owner who went far beyond managing the backlog to become a strategic connector between customer needs, business requirements, technical constraints, and overall strategy. What made this PO remarkable was their background – they came from a developer background rather than business, yet quickly mastered the Product Owner role through dedicated learning. Despite being new to the PO role, they rapidly developed the ability to connect backlog items directly to customer pain points, often using techniques like user story mapping. This PO brought both clarity and purpose to the team, significantly boosting team motivation by helping developers understand how their work directly impacted customers and business outcomes.

The Bad Product Owner: The Proxy Problem

The worst Product Owner situation Anh encountered involved a Proxy PO who lacked the authority to make decisions independently. This created significant challenges for both the team and the PO, as every new problem or decision required seeking permission from external stakeholders. This pattern lengthened feedback cycles and demotivated both the PO and the development team, who couldn’t move forward efficiently when blocked by decisions. Anh’s approach to addressing this involved coaching the PO on engaging with external stakeholders, setting up regular touchpoints (2-3 times per week) to shorten feedback cycles, and focusing on improving the decision-making process to unblock the team. He also emphasized creating a strong network of connections for the PO to navigate the organization effectively and always having a Plan B when certain decisions couldn’t be made quickly.

Self-reflection Question: Does your Product Owner have true decision-making authority, or are they frequently forced to seek permission from others, and how is this affecting your team’s velocity and motivation?

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About Anh Vu

Anh Vu is a seasoned Project Manager with 10+ years in software delivery, Agile, DevOps, and PM. As a PMP trainer, he has empowered 200+ professionals. Passionate about continuous learning, Anh explores practical tools and methodologies to help PMs and teams succeed in fast-paced, tech-driven environments.

You can link with Anh Vu on LinkedIn.

Ellen Grove: The Messenger Anti-Pattern, When Product Owners Lack Authority

The Great Product Owner: Building Shared Understanding, The Collaborative Product Owner Pattern

Ellen describes an exemplary Product Owner (PO) who actively engaged with customers, often bringing the team along to meet users. This practice fostered a shared understanding of customer needs and amplified creativity within the team. A great PO promotes collaboration and ensures that the team is aligned with the product vision, enabling innovative solutions and meaningful outcomes.

The Bad Product Owner: The Messenger Anti-Pattern, When Product Owners Lack Authority

A poor PO, Ellen explains, is one who lacks decision-making authority. In one case, a PO served merely as a messenger for the CEO, repeatedly deferring to higher-ups for answers. This lack of empowerment hindered team progress and frustrated the development process. Ellen underscores that Scrum Masters play a crucial role in supporting POs to ensure they can fulfill their responsibilities effectively.

Self-reflection Question: How can you support Product Owners to strengthen their ability to make informed decisions?

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About Ellen Grove
Ellen is a skilled business agility coach, trainer, and facilitator, helping teams and leaders foster collaboration, productivity, and meaningful change. With expertise in Agile, Scrum, Lean, and systems coaching, she partners with diverse organizations—from startups to global enterprises—to navigate complex challenges, build resilience, and drive impactful organizational transformations across all departments.

You can link with Ellen Grove on LinkedIn.

Kevin Hoey: The Product Owner as a Team Player in Agile Teams

The Great Product Owner: The Product Owner as a Team Player in Agile Teams

Kevin highlights the qualities of an exceptional Product Owner who excels in communication, provides clear context, and uses inclusive language like “us” and “we”. This PO effectively conveys the product vision, fosters team collaboration, and ensures everyone understands the impact of their work. Kevin underscores the importance of over-communication and listening, demonstrating how great POs drive team success.

The Bad Product Owner: From Absent to Engaged, Removing the Absent PO Dynamics

Kevin discusses the challenges of working with an absent Product Owner, which he identifies as a significant anti-pattern. He shares his experience of addressing the issue by understanding the PO’s pressures and advocating for their presence. Kevin introduced the concept of a Proxy PO, which eventually led to a successful transition and improved team dynamics. He emphasizes the importance of curiosity, understanding, and taking transition steps to manage risks.

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 Kevin Hoey

Kevin is the lead scrum master at Domestic and General, with 10 years’ experience in project management before moving into scrum mastery. He now heads up a team of scrum masters, whilst continuing to support his own squads. Kevin believes scrum masters need to focus on self-improvement to turbocharge their ability to better support teams and the wider business on the journey to effectiveness.

You can link with Kevin Hoey on LinkedIn.