A Product Owner is most often the person with their neck on the line but there’s more to being a Product Owner than just taking ownership. Mark Pushinsky shares some tips on how to build trust with a development team in order to create a great product and inclusive environment in this short video.
Formerly a Director of Product Management at Capital One, Mark led transformational, large-scale software development programs using Design Thinking and Agile best practices. As a Certified Scrum Trainer, Mark has trained thousands of people both in and out of software development including Naval Special Warfare. Mark routinely challenges teams and executives to embrace these new ways for working through assessment, strategic planning, and executive coaching. Mark holds an MBA from the Darden School of Business, an M.S. in the Management of Information Technology from University of Virginia, and a B.A. in Business Administration from The College of William and Mary. Here’s what Mark has to say about building trust with your team as a product owner:
One of the best ways to earn the trust of your development team as a Product Owner is to listen.
Invite them into the process. Take your team with you when you’re out doing interviews and talking to customers and talking to users. They’re going to see that you trust them and get their input and they’re going to get more excited about the products they’re building.
When the team has a question or asks something of you, be ready with an answer. (Should it look like this or should it look like this? Should we go this direction or that direction?) This will build trust with the team if you can get back to them with an answer rather quickly.
Show that you have their back. Mistakes are inevitable. As the Product Owner, you can show that you defend the team. An example is saying something like “We tried something new, it didn’t work, but here’s what we learned…” Defending the choices that the team is making will help you build that trust.
For more insights, continuing education, and certification, consider joining one of our upcoming Certified Scrum Product Owner courses. These courses are highly interactive and engaging!