Find solutions, not problems
No matter if you work in command&control or trust&inspire culture, there is one thing you can do to build empowerment in your engineering team almost immediately.
During the next refinement sessions, observe what's dynamics between the team and the Product Manager.
If it's this way:
- She comes with requirements,
- Team bombards her with everything that she missed,
- She takes this "feedback" and comes back with more requirements
It's wrong.
Try this instead:
- Analyse requirements, ask for rationale, and build your context behind the project
- Highlight possible problems and edge cases
- AND suggest ideas on how you would have solved all edge cases which you listed
A good PM can have a broader context and more knowledge about a product and customers. But it's you and your engineering team who know what's possible and what's the latest in your technology.
Use your mind not just to deliver but also to discover the best possible solution.
Blog post: https://blog.practicalengineering.management/focus-on-solutions-not-problems-5ee0339c6e16
Focus on solutions, not problems
Software Engineering Management in 2023
Mirek Stanek