Reason #1: Lack of trust
A story about a PO with Trust Issues and Micro-management Nano-Management skills
When this guy joined our team I was truly happy. It felt like.. FINALLY
The PO spot was empty for last 8 month and my teams really needed one. New blood. Believing in what he does. Passionate. And he seemed to be that guy. At least, at the beginning: he was curious, not afraid to ask stupid questions, 100% involved, seeking connection and comprehension..
BUT
in couple of month I've started noticing weird things happening
The number of additional meetings wasn't lowering.. u know, this painful topic of "this meeting could be an email", he kept being unsatisfied with state of transparency and constantly requesting detailed updates on every move each team made - despite the fact my teams were mature and organized enough to keep him posted on every input (the boards were properly maintained, all statuses updated, comments added, issues linked and so on) Still he wasn't satisfied with all provided information and arranged additional meetings where he could go through the comments and just keep on TALKING, on and on
And it started killing me
I've tried to highlight the problem on our agreed feedback sessions (he mentioned many times how open and ready to accept any constructive feedback he was..)
SPOILER: he turned to be open, indeed. The problem was that he listened, but didn't hear
I've tried to coach him, but it failed from the very beginning (cause coaching might take place only upon clear request, and he saw no problem in his own actions)
SPOILER: he didn't get why teams were unhappy being interrupted many times during the week and why the hell they needed to repeat same things all the time, cause it's so cool - to have another meeting. AGAIN
I tried to mentor and suggest other tools and tactics to help him increase the clarity he was lacking (in the way that would be suitable for him)
SPOILER: he had no idea what would be enough for him, therefore, this initiative failed too
So, after numerous attempts to reach him out (I tried different ways), and after running couple of experiments within my teams to try to please him (I even organized a free subscription on a therapy platform so, at least he could start his healing journey)
SPOILER: they all failed
The moment I've realized that I'll be unable to reach him out or change his attitude in any way (it's just time and energy-consuming and brings no outcome) I've decided to change my strategy from "help him be more productive by trusting his teams" to "protect my teams from unnecessary switching by any costs"
It frustrates me as a Scrum Master. But at least.. it works
It's like... I'm not his therapist to deal with his insecurities, and it's not my problem that he cannot trust anyone and he needs to micro manage nano-manage his teams on every step they make 3 times per day even if they provide all needed information in full
For those managers reading this, PLEASE, don't underestimate context switching as a minor waste. It's crucial for staying focused.
And u can check all recent neurobiological studies that show dreadful consequences of constant context switching for proper brain functioning. Even when "it's just a quick call"
Take care of ur engineers, do not disturb them cause u feel lonely and wanna talk. Provide them with instructions - on how to better keep u updated, reduce the number of meetings "that could be an email" and just give them space to do their job
And work on urself instead, go to therapy