As a product owner your responsibility is huge, and fear often lurks in the shadows. You might worry about making the wrong decision or facing criticism. But here’s the truth: sometimes being afraid as a product owner is not only normal, it’s beneficial. Embracing fear can lead to breakthroughs and innovation. But how do you face these challenges without being paralyzed? In this article, you’ll find the necessary personal protection equipment.
How to look the Dragon in the Eyes?
Imagine fear as a dragon guarding a treasure chest of potential and growth. By confronting this dragon, you can unlock new opportunities. Mario Andretti, a legendary race car driver, once said, “If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.” This means that true progress typically lies beyond comfort zones. Moving beyond your comfort zone is daring, and armor helps. But not all armor works well. Read on to discover how to suit up!
What is good Armor to deal with Product Owner fears?
Some weeks ago, I was at an interview with Brené Brown. She spoke of dealing with fear and the kind of armor you put on. Some armor isolates us, while others empower us to take risks together. Here are some pieces of armor I recognized from my practice as a Product Owner coach.
Knower vs. Learner armor
The armored knower prioritizes being right over learning. But this can lead to rigidity and missed opportunities. I met Product Owners who were so convinced they had to know everything that it totally stressed them out. They were unable to ask for help, for fear they might be unmasked as a not all-knowing. With coaching, we could transition into a ‘daring learner’ armor. We worked on embracing curiosity, and daring to ask for help. The new armor worked well in their Agile team. It engages the intellect and helpfulness of the whole team. One of these Product Owners remarked: “I discovered that the right questions are more important than the right answers.”
Us-Them armor vs. multi-truth armor
An ‘us-them’ armor creates safety by putting people with difficult opinions in an inferior group. This divides teams. I encountered people who would avoid colleagues that were too different. They focused on personal tasks to avoid difficult conversations. For instance, one person I coached, avoided her team by claiming all layout work. She armored up by staking her domain. She hoped to prove to ‘the hard-working people’ that she was delivering great work, and she was not one of the ‘slackers.’ The growing resentment, however, was driving the team into High Conflict. It stressed out everyone. Here, too, I worked with the team on an armor change. We built new armor by disconnecting truth and opinion from identity. The new room for complexity allowed different truths to coexist harmoniously.
Shame and Blame vs. Shared Responsibility
Relying on shame and blame armor is an effective way to ensure mistakes are not yours. However, it stifles creativity and innovation within teams. In my LEGO Scrum Simulations, for instance, teams tend to make mistakes the first time. Often someone looks at me and asks me, as their teacher, to point out who was to blame for the mistake. They intend well, and they are eager to learn new accountabilities. The blame question allows me to show the ‘shared responsibility’ armor in practice: I point out that we were all there when the thing went wrong. Shaming and blaming is pointless. What matters is correcting the mistake and ensuring it does not happen again. I hope Product Owners in my course learn from this experience. I wish all team leaders would cultivate compassion and accountability, creating an environment where risk-taking is encouraged without fear of blame.
How to be a fearless Product Owner?
To thrive as a Product Owner means choosing your armor wisely—embrace learning, lean into conflict with openness, and shared responsibility within your team. It’s OK to feel fear because your new armor protects you. It allows you to face the dragon of fear as a team.
If you’re ready to transform your approach as a Product Owner into one filled with confidence and daring leadership, consider a few coaching sessions with Anton.