When Product Owners Eat the Grass for Their Teams | Tom Molenaar

Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile storytelling from the trenches

Tom Molenaar: When Product Owners “Eat the Grass” for Their Teams

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

The Great Product Owner: The Vision Catalyst

"This PO had the ability to communicate the vision and enthusiasm about the product, even I felt inspired."

Tom describes an exceptional Product Owner who could communicate vision and enthusiasm so effectively that even he, as the Scrum Master, felt inspired about the product. This PO excelled at engaging teams in product discovery techniques, helping them move from merely delivering features to taking outcome responsibility. The PO introduced validation techniques, brought customers directly to the office for interviews, and consistently showed the team the impact of their work, creating a strong connection between engineers and end users.

The Bad Product Owner: The Micromanager

"This PO was basically managing the team with micro-managing approach, this blocked the team from self-organizing."

Tom encountered a Product Owner who was too controlling, essentially micromanaging the team instead of empowering them. This PO hosted daily stand-ups, assigned individual tasks, and didn't give the team space for self-organization. When Tom investigated the underlying motivation, he discovered the PO believed that without tight control, the team would underperform. Tom helped the PO understand the benefits of trusting the team and worked with both sides to clarify roles and responsibilities, moving from micromanagement to empowerment.

In this segment, we refer to the book “Empowered” by Marty Cagan.

Self-reflection Question: How do you help Product Owners find the balance between providing clear direction and allowing team autonomy?

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About Tom Molenaar Tom is a team coach with a background in social psychology and behavioral influence. He is passionate about fostering collaboration, and helping teams flourish and achieve their potential. His approach blends insight, empathy, and strategy to cultivate lasting team success.

You can link with Tom Molenaar on LinkedIn.