5 Ideas for Product Owners: how to increase team motivation through working on Vision
The goal is a strong internal motivator , according to the latest research in psychology that Den Pink collected and summarized. When working with food teams, I often come across examples that prove his arguments.
Lack of clarity at the level of product vision, clear positioning in the market, development strategies for 3-6 months, pressure of urgency or a sense of competitive struggle - dampens the speed of the team and the personal involvement of its participants.
The ability of the Product Owner (the role of the Product Owner in SCRUM terminology) to embody the vision of the product in its words and actions cannot be overemphasized when we are talking about team development. This ability helps the team to work with focus (focus is one of the values ​​of the SCRUM process).
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The focus of attention changes our perception. To better understand what it is about, try a little experiment. During the day, keep in focus some simple thing, such as red. Pay attention to everything red on the street and in the office, think about red in the shower and elevator, find a couple of interesting facts about the color itself, or red things. By the end of the day, you will begin to perceive red in a different way. Men may be surprised to find that red has shades. And the next day, “red” thoughts may occur to you.
A similar effect works with concentration on product vision. Present the team with a product — like a problem, a riddle, a task, an intellectual challenge that you are working on. And after a time the focus on solving the problem will change the perception of reality, the team will begin to see non-trivial solutions and not obvious opportunities that previously went unnoticed.
Below are 5 ideas for Product Owners on how to increase internal motivation and teamwork through vision.
1. Prepare a grain elevator pitch . Product owners often use this type of presentation to investors. Do you pitch your ideas to the team? If not, it would alert me. Try one of the compressed structured presentation formats of the product, in which in 2 minutes (while you are driving in an imaginary elevator with an important person for the project), you describe: the problem you are working on, your solution to the problem, key audience, way of monetization, market opportunities, known to you competitors and the current phase of the project. Make it as short as possible, informative and emotional. Record on video and watch how inspirational the product leader is.
2. Work with volunteers. Does your project have fans, followers, helpers ready to work for an idea? If not, it would alert me. Try to find such people, involve them in project activity and watch. What is the difference between your behavior in communication with the participants of the project “for money” and those who help “for the idea”? Obviously, before the volunteers to "dance" have more, because they have no additional, material motivation. Treat your employees as volunteers, and the results will not keep you waiting.
3. Shoe customers slippers. Does your product have “live” customers? If not, it would alert me. Even if you are still at the paper prototype stage, or the first sprints (iterations in Scrum terms) are working on the project. How do you know that the problem really exists, and your solution fits? You leave the office, find potential users and ask. Use custom developer as team building activity. Invite key users to the demonstrations - let them gasp with delight in the presence of the team. If your customers are difficult to access (for example, they live across the ocean), it is especially important for you to use the User Personas technique to describe them. In any case, think as often as possible about the users and on behalf of the users of your product.
4. Use iteration goals. Do you use release and sprint goals as part of expressing a product vision? If not, it would alert me. If it is difficult for you to find a suitable formulation, the reason may lie in the lack of clear vision of the product. If there is no clarity at a higher level of vision, then a porridge of features will be a level lower. Conversely, if you were able to articulate the goal of the release, then at the level of sprints it will be easier for you to express goals. Use SMART goals, for example, “Increase sales of hotel rooms by using social recommendations of guests.” Another possible reason for abandoning goals is to underestimate their importance. Remember that the goals of releases and sprints narrow the focus of the team’s attention, help to understand development priorities, direct their activities and feel themselves involved in the value stream.
5. Create urgency or importance pressure. How long have you stayed up late in your office or fussed before a demonstration? If quite a while - it would have alerted me. Yes, labor days were canceled by canonical adjail in favor of the “maintained pace” of development. However, I often meet teams that lack "sports interest" in their regular life. Perhaps while you are stalking your competitors are already taking over the market. Want to know what a surge of energy and motivation can give a sense of urgency? Visit any event for startups, something like “Garazh48” or “StartUp Weekend”. If you do not have enough "external" restrictions - think up your own (competitive fight, participation in exhibitions, competitions, etc.). Combine urgency and importance to create intrinsic motivation to work on a product.
I hope this was something useful and will be grateful for other ideas of internal motivators.
Thank you for your attention to the topic (I am learning to write even shorter and more meaningful).
Lack of clarity at the level of product vision, clear positioning in the market, development strategies for 3-6 months, pressure of urgency or a sense of competitive struggle - dampens the speed of the team and the personal involvement of its participants.
The ability of the Product Owner (the role of the Product Owner in SCRUM terminology) to embody the vision of the product in its words and actions cannot be overemphasized when we are talking about team development. This ability helps the team to work with focus (focus is one of the values ​​of the SCRUM process).
')
The focus of attention changes our perception. To better understand what it is about, try a little experiment. During the day, keep in focus some simple thing, such as red. Pay attention to everything red on the street and in the office, think about red in the shower and elevator, find a couple of interesting facts about the color itself, or red things. By the end of the day, you will begin to perceive red in a different way. Men may be surprised to find that red has shades. And the next day, “red” thoughts may occur to you.
A similar effect works with concentration on product vision. Present the team with a product — like a problem, a riddle, a task, an intellectual challenge that you are working on. And after a time the focus on solving the problem will change the perception of reality, the team will begin to see non-trivial solutions and not obvious opportunities that previously went unnoticed.
Below are 5 ideas for Product Owners on how to increase internal motivation and teamwork through vision.
1. Prepare a grain elevator pitch . Product owners often use this type of presentation to investors. Do you pitch your ideas to the team? If not, it would alert me. Try one of the compressed structured presentation formats of the product, in which in 2 minutes (while you are driving in an imaginary elevator with an important person for the project), you describe: the problem you are working on, your solution to the problem, key audience, way of monetization, market opportunities, known to you competitors and the current phase of the project. Make it as short as possible, informative and emotional. Record on video and watch how inspirational the product leader is.
2. Work with volunteers. Does your project have fans, followers, helpers ready to work for an idea? If not, it would alert me. Try to find such people, involve them in project activity and watch. What is the difference between your behavior in communication with the participants of the project “for money” and those who help “for the idea”? Obviously, before the volunteers to "dance" have more, because they have no additional, material motivation. Treat your employees as volunteers, and the results will not keep you waiting.
3. Shoe customers slippers. Does your product have “live” customers? If not, it would alert me. Even if you are still at the paper prototype stage, or the first sprints (iterations in Scrum terms) are working on the project. How do you know that the problem really exists, and your solution fits? You leave the office, find potential users and ask. Use custom developer as team building activity. Invite key users to the demonstrations - let them gasp with delight in the presence of the team. If your customers are difficult to access (for example, they live across the ocean), it is especially important for you to use the User Personas technique to describe them. In any case, think as often as possible about the users and on behalf of the users of your product.
4. Use iteration goals. Do you use release and sprint goals as part of expressing a product vision? If not, it would alert me. If it is difficult for you to find a suitable formulation, the reason may lie in the lack of clear vision of the product. If there is no clarity at a higher level of vision, then a porridge of features will be a level lower. Conversely, if you were able to articulate the goal of the release, then at the level of sprints it will be easier for you to express goals. Use SMART goals, for example, “Increase sales of hotel rooms by using social recommendations of guests.” Another possible reason for abandoning goals is to underestimate their importance. Remember that the goals of releases and sprints narrow the focus of the team’s attention, help to understand development priorities, direct their activities and feel themselves involved in the value stream.
5. Create urgency or importance pressure. How long have you stayed up late in your office or fussed before a demonstration? If quite a while - it would have alerted me. Yes, labor days were canceled by canonical adjail in favor of the “maintained pace” of development. However, I often meet teams that lack "sports interest" in their regular life. Perhaps while you are stalking your competitors are already taking over the market. Want to know what a surge of energy and motivation can give a sense of urgency? Visit any event for startups, something like “Garazh48” or “StartUp Weekend”. If you do not have enough "external" restrictions - think up your own (competitive fight, participation in exhibitions, competitions, etc.). Combine urgency and importance to create intrinsic motivation to work on a product.
I hope this was something useful and will be grateful for other ideas of internal motivators.
Thank you for your attention to the topic (I am learning to write even shorter and more meaningful).
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/160199/
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