Michael Schmidt: When Ego Hinders Progress For PO’s, The Overconfident Product Owner

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

The Great Product Owner: Building Respect and Trust With The Team, The Skills of a Great PO

In this episode, Michael shares an insightful story of a product manager turned Product Owner, faced with the challenges of a complex, high-tech product. Despite initial uncertainty, she learned to trust her team's expertise and leaned on them for guidance. This shift in approach earned her the respect and credibility of her team. Michael emphasizes the importance of seeking help from the team and highlights this as a key trait of a great Product Owner. This episode provides valuable insights into the qualities that define an exceptional Product Owner.

The Bad Product Owner: When Ego Hinders Progress For PO’s, The Overconfident PO

In this episode, Michael recounts an encounter with a Product Owner (PO) who was overconfident in their skills, while at the same time not providing enough information in user stories, forcing the team to guess what was asked. Despite attempts to offer help, the PO refused assistance, ultimately causing friction. When the situation escalated, the manager intervened, resulting in Michael's departure from the team. Michael stresses the importance of highlighting the impact on the team and offering constructive feedback on user stories. He introduces the "Michael test" for evaluating a PO’s ability to perform in that role.

 

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About Michael Schmidt

Michael a Berlin-based Agile Coach for teams, roles and organisations around software based product development. Michael invented "the taskboard" on his own, which ignited his working agile by conviction some 13 years ago.

You can link with Michael Schmidt on LinkedIn and connect with Michael Schmidt on Twitter.