The Great Product Owner: Clarity, Accountability, and a Partnership That Fills in the Blanks
“We kind of filled in the blanks for each other, and it felt very natural — it’s grown organically into this partnership where we’re extremely aligned on how we see and do things.” – Christian Thordal
Christian describes his best Product Owner as someone he currently works with — a person who combines deep product clarity with genuine leadership. This PO is fully accountable for the backlog, sets clear expectations toward the teams, and isn’t afraid to push them.
What makes this PO stand out is how they use reporting as a communication tool: alongside the backlog, they proactively communicate to the product leader whether things are within or outside scope, always with a plan ready. Christian and this PO hold weekly follow-ups to discuss the team, the backlog, and the product direction.
Over time, their alignment has become so strong that during facilitation sessions they naturally fill in blanks for each other — one picks up where the other leaves off. Vasco compared it to a jazz duo, where each musician picks up on the other’s leads in real time. This kind of organic partnership in leadership direction reflects positively on the entire team, creating a sense of coherence and momentum that everyone can feel.
Self-reflection Question: How aligned are you with your Product Owner on leadership direction, and what would it take to build the kind of partnership where you naturally fill in the blanks for each other?
The Bad Product Owner: When the PO Disappears and the Scrum Master Becomes the Glue
“You can inspire, you can motivate, but you can’t really do the work for them.” – Christian Thordal
Christian shares an experience from a larger logistics company in Denmark where the Product Owner was a great, likable person — but didn’t understand the role. The backlog was high-level, consisting primarily of Epics with no acceptance criteria. Then the warning signs started: the PO became increasingly hard to get a hold of, started canceling refinement meetings (sometimes on the same day), began working more from home, and became physically more distant from the team.
Christian and the team were left to navigate on their own, breaking down epics into stories and tasks without knowing if they were building the right product. Christian tried setting up weekly one-hour sessions to help the PO work through the backlog, but the fundamental problem remained — you cannot do the PO’s work for them.
Eventually, Christian found himself filling in for the PO, which is itself an anti-pattern: the Scrum Master becoming the glue that holds the product together. The symptoms to watch for are clear: a PO who starts missing meetings, backlog items that remain unrefined, a PO who becomes physically or remotely distant, and — the biggest red flag — a Scrum Master who feels compelled to step in and do the PO’s job.
Self-reflection Question: Are there signs that your Product Owner is drifting away from the team, and have you caught yourself filling in gaps that aren’t yours to fill?
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About Christian Thordal
Christian Thordal is a former Danish Army officer turned Agile Coach. He works with leaders and teams to create clarity, accountability, and momentum in complex organizations. His approach blends military leadership principles with modern product development, helping organizations move from discussion and strategy to real execution and measurable results.
You can link with Christian Thordal on LinkedIn.
