The reality for product teams is complicated, to say the least. After more than a decade of working for different companies in different corners of the world. I can only say that teams are trapped.

Anti-patterns get in the way, and teams get stuck.

Facing anti-patterns is inevitable. Dealing with them is the key differentiator to creating value steadily.

It’s unlikely you’ll join a company where everything is perfectly wired to create outstanding products. You will need to deal with tons of bullshit before you can create value.

I’m not being radical. I’m being realistic. Reality is complicated.

Let me help you understand common anti-patterns and give you hints on how to untrap your product teams.

When I give talks about untrapping product teams, I strive to understand how trapped the audience is. I generally point out anti-patterns and ask how they experience them.

The above image represents a general scenario worldwide. Although this one is from Western Europe, I got similar results in ten different countries.

Understanding Anti-Patterns

Now, let’s understand each common anti-pattern and clarify what you can do today for a better tomorrow.

#1 — Output over Outcome

It’s natural that everyone talks about features. That’s tangible and easy to imagine. But sadly, features are just a means to an end. Without starting with the end in mind, teams end up creating features nobody cares about.

You need to learn how to walk people out of output thinking and move them toward outcome orientation.

Here are some opportunities:

Requests: Strive to understand the outcome instead of getting bogged with the solution.
Product backlog items: Create your items outcome-oriented. Define what to achieve, not what to deliver.

#2 — Opinions over Evidence

When discussions are based on opinions, results are based on luck.

Expertise must talk louder than opinions.

Evidence must talk louder than expertise and opinions together.

Don’t let opinions drive your decisions. Think about what you know and what you don’t know and make decisions based on that.

Great product teams continuously create opportunities to uncover unknowns instead of falling victim to their opinions.

#3 — Prescriptive Roadmaps over Embracing the Unknown

When roadmaps define what needs to be done by when. Teams become trapped in a feature factory anti-pattern.

Day in and day out, they must run because delivering pre-defined solutions is the ultimate goal. Yet, creating value is forgotten. That’s not how you deliver results.

To create value, you need to set the desired result and let teams figure out how best to reach that. Steve Jobs said, “You don’t hire smart people to tell them what to do. You hire them so that they tell you what to do.”

When you embrace the unknown, you maximize the chances of creating outstanding solutions.

Let the results talk by themselves.

#4 — Meeting Deadlines over Achieving Goals

A deadline set in stone is a quality killer. When that happens, teams cut corners to meet arbitrary wishes.

The problem with deadlines is how they’re generally set. Someone outside the team defines deadlines and informs teams, then asks for their commitment. Of course, that won’t work. No one commits to something they weren’t part of.

Collaboration is how you get out of this trap. If leadership wants to meet a deadline for any reason, share that with the team. And work together to solve the puzzle.

When your focus is on goals, results can surprise you positively. But, when your attention goes to meeting deadlines, mediocrity is the result.

#5 — Implementing Solutions over Solving Problems

It’s rather easy to know if a product has any success chances or not. You need to know who’s calling the shots.

The further from the customer you are, the fewer customer decisions you should make.

Curiously, top management tends to make many customer decisions, despite being very far from customers.

Good leadership is about creating an environment where teams can work autonomously.

Unfortunately, too many leaders misunderstand their roles and try calling all the shots. For example, they have all the great ideas and force teams to implement solutions without knowing what problem they should solve

Whether you like it or not, you’ll stumble with leaders like that. You cannot win this battle with arguments but with curiosity. The goal is to move them to a problem space and work from there.

Focus on sharpening your questions instead of giving answers you don’t know.

Challenge the Status Quo

You can bow to the status quo and remain stuck. Or, you can step back, reflect and challenge the anti-patterns.

Most teams haven’t had the chance to experience working differently. Take it as a chance to do something different.

My five steps of a transformation are

Accept the problem and why it matters in solving it
Choose one problem at a time
Experiment with different approaches and learn from the results
Reflect with your team and decide how to move on
Rinse and repeat

Transformation is an ultramarathon, not a 100 meters Sprint. Go easy, but continuously.

Note: Upcoming live training Product Owner Beyond Scrum on the 18th of March and 1st of April at 10 am CET. You may be interested to learn more about it. There are limited seats.

Untrapping Product Teams

What Could You Do to Untrap Your Team?