Podcast Summary

Podcast: Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast
Host: Vasco Duarte
Guest: Juliana Stepanova (Agile Coach and Scrum Master)
Episode: Why "I'll Just Do It Myself" Is the Most Expensive PO Shortcut
Date: February 6, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode centers on common Product Owner (PO) anti-patterns, focusing particularly on the dangers and costs of a PO taking on too many roles or responsibilities under the guise of speed or efficiency—summarized as the “I’ll Just Do It Myself” shortcut. Through Juliana Stepanova's experience, the discussion explores why collaborative work is fundamental to Agile, how to address the temptation to go solo, and the marks of truly effective product ownership.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Most Expensive PO Anti-Pattern: "I'll Just Do It Myself"

• Juliana identifies the most prevalent anti-pattern as the Product Owner stepping outside their role and taking over other responsibilities, such as design or testing, in an attempt to accelerate progress.
• She shares that this shortcut often results in:
  • Neglected collaboration and reduced team synergy
  • Work needing to be redone, negating any time saved
  • Disrespect for the specialized skills of others on the team (e.g., designers, testers)
  • Breakdown of responsibility and long-term team dysfunction

Notable quote:

“For me, like most spreaded anti pattern [is] to make it quicker: I will be just like skipping the designer. ...I learned somehow like 5 years ago how it's designed. I will put it...”
— Juliana Stepanova [01:51]

2. Why Collaboration is Essential to Agile

• Vasco highlights that collaboration is at Agile's core, and isolated work circumvents the value of leveraging diverse perspectives.
• Juliana expands:
  • Taking over others’ jobs (e.g., a developer testing instead of the tester) can appear to be a short-term gain but erodes long-term effectiveness and communication.
  • When people cover for absent roles, important accountability and cross-team communication suffer.

Notable quote:

“If developer can test the user story it doesn’t mean that he should do it or she should do it and passing by the tester... It’s the quick win on the very short term solution. If we take it as well in the long term it’s breaking the whole system...”
— Juliana Stepanova [04:35]

3. Building Respect, Communication, and Professionalism

• Juliana stresses the importance of professional boundaries and respect for each role’s unique contributions.
• She teaches teams to:
  • Appreciate the value others bring (“they’re making really great brilliant job” about UX/UI designers)
  • Maintain effective communication even during bottlenecks, asking before stepping in (“Do you need the help in this bottleneck situation?”)
  • Only fill gaps when explicitly requested, focusing otherwise on one’s own role

Notable quote:

“It's really like showing not respectful in the regarding to the UX/UI... In my case, I would wait if they ask me for the help. Or I can ask, ‘Do you need the help?’”
— Juliana Stepanova [06:11]

4. Recognizing and Intervening Early in the "Loner" Pattern

• Vasco notes it’s crucial for Scrum Masters to observe early signs of people trying to "do it all themselves" and use these moments to spark open conversations about collaboration.

“That should be the trigger to have a conversation...”
— Vasco Duarte [07:06]

5. Profile of Outstanding Product Owners

• Juliana describes the best POs as those who:
  • Are committed to growth and learning
  • Openly communicate challenges and inefficiencies with the team, rather than solving them alone
  • Invite the team to co-create solutions

Example Story:

One PO faced a recurring wasteful release process meeting. Instead of enduring it or unilaterally solving it, the PO brought the issue to the team and Scrum Master. Collectively, they devised a more efficient, semi-automatic release process, eliminating unnecessary meetings and waste—eventually spreading this improvement company-wide.

Notable quote:

“The PO who’s not like sitting and saying I’m knowing how it’s right, I will deal by myself, I will solve it. But coming and saying hey let’s sync all together, it’s given a very, very speed up development to the great PO. This really communication to be open…”
— Juliana Stepanova [09:30]

6. Team-Centric Success and Shared Responsibility

• Vasco wraps up: True delivery happens via the team, not by a lone PO regardless of talent. Shared achievement, transparency, and team-driven problem solving are hallmarks of high-performing Agile teams.

Notable quote:

"The PO may be a genius, but they can’t deliver the software. The whole team needs to collaborate on that..."
— Vasco Duarte [10:00]

Memorable Quotes and Timestamps

• On spreading anti-patterns:
  “For me, like most spreaded anti pattern [is] to make it quicker: I will be just like skipping the designer…”
  [01:51] Juliana Stepanova

• On damaging efficiency for collaboration:
  “If developer can test the user story it doesn’t mean that he should do it…In the long term it’s breaking the whole system…”
  [04:35] Juliana Stepanova

• On respect for specialist roles:
  “It's really like showing not respectful in the regarding to the UX/UI and they're making really great brilliant job...I would wait if they ask me for the help.”
  [06:11] Juliana Stepanova

• On high-performing POs:
  "The PO who’s...not sitting and saying I’m knowing how it’s right, I will deal by myself...but coming and saying hey let’s sync all together, it’s given a very, very speed up development to the great PO..."
  [09:30] Juliana Stepanova

Additional Resources

• Juliana mentions listeners can connect with her via LinkedIn, inviting questions from the Agile community.
  [10:40]

Summary Table of Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:51 | Juliana discusses the "I'll just do it myself" anti-pattern | | 04:35 | Dangers of role-blurring and lack of specialization | | 06:11 | Importance of respect, asking before stepping into other roles | | 07:32 | What great POs do differently | | 09:30 | Team story: group solution to release process inefficiency | | 10:40 | Contact information for Juliana and invitation for further questions |

Takeaways

• The shortcut of “just doing it myself” is rarely faster when viewed holistically—long-term consequences include wasted effort and team dysfunction.
• Respect, open communication, and recognition of each team member’s expertise form the heart of effective Agile collaboration.
• High-performing Product Owners grow with the team, seek diverse input, and prioritize team outcomes over individual heroics.