Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile storytelling from the trenches

The Great Product Owner: Leadership Skills Make the Difference | Marina Lazovic

Mar 28, 2025

Marina Lazovic, a Scrum Master and Kanban Trainer from Belgrade, shares insights from nearly a decade in the IT industry. She emphasizes that while product skills matter, leadership abilities set great Product Owners apart. Key topics include the importance of empathy, accessibility, and leading by example to foster team trust. Marina also highlights the consequences of POs not understanding their team's dynamics and offers strategies for improving communication and support, ultimately enhancing collaboration and productivity.

18:38

Creator website

Episode guests

Marina Lazovic

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Exceptional Product Owners differentiate themselves through strong leadership qualities like empathy and support, fostering a trusting team environment.

Awareness of team dynamics and regular communication help Product Owners set realistic expectations, enhancing overall team performance and collaboration.

Deep dives

Understanding Team Dynamics

A significant issue identified among product owners is their lack of awareness regarding the strengths and weaknesses of their teams. This often results in unrealistic expectations about what the team can deliver, especially when junior developers require more support and guidance. For example, a product owner might expect a team with predominantly junior members to handle complex tasks independently, leading to confusion and reduced quality of work. To address this, fostering regular, transparent communication between product owners and their teams can help ensure that expectations are realistic and that the product owner is more attuned to the team's capabilities.

Intro

2min

Understanding Team Dynamics: The Key Role of the Product Owner

3min

Fostering Transparency and Understanding in Product Ownership

3min

The Essence of Effective Product Ownership

4min

Revitalizing Agile: Insights from the Global Agile Summit

6min

Marina Lazovic: Leadership Skills Make the Difference for Product Owners

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 PO as a Leader

Marina identifies that while product skills are important, it's leadership abilities that truly distinguish exceptional Product Owners. Great POs demonstrate strong empathy and lead by example, creating an environment where the team feels supported. Marina emphasizes the importance of availability – outstanding Product Owners make themselves accessible to their teams when needed, establishing a presence that goes beyond just attending ceremonies. This leadership through presence and support fosters trust, enabling teams to approach challenges with confidence knowing their PO has their back.

The Bad Product Owner: The PO Who Did Not Understand Their Team

Marina describes a problematic pattern where Product Owners fail to understand their team's strengths and weaknesses. These POs lack awareness of team composition – not recognizing the balance between senior and junior members or understanding their specific challenges. This blindness leads to unrealistic expectations about what the team can accomplish in a sprint. Marina suggests addressing this by establishing regular sync meetings with the PO to discuss team dynamics and challenges. By helping Product Owners understand team composition, Scrum Masters can bridge this knowledge gap and foster more realistic planning and expectations.

Self-reflection Question: How might you help a Product Owner better understand the unique composition and capabilities of your team without creating an adversarial dynamic?

About Marina Lazovic

Marina is a Scrum Master and Kanban Trainer from Belgrade, Serbia, with nearly a decade in the IT industry. Though not from a technical background, she is passionate about helping development teams and organizations optimize processes and build great products using Agile. She thrives on driving efficiency and fostering collaboration.

You can link with Marina Lazovic on LinkedIn.

Get the Snipd
podcast app

Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode

Save any
moment

Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways

Share
& Export

Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more