Why Too Many Scrum Masters Are Not Ready for This Tricky Job
Wearing a Scrum Master’s hat doesn’t mean getting the job done
Wearing a Scrum Master’s hat doesn’t mean getting the job done
Originally published in GoRetro
I must be honest. It took me years to understand the importance of Scrum Master. I used to think most teams wouldn’t need someone to facilitate sessions and schedule meetings. Well, I obviously missed the point.
Good Scrum Masters can help teams get comfortable with the uncomfortable. They encourage leadership and stakeholders to embrace the unknown. They help organizations become proper agile environments. Yet, it’s one of the most challenging jobs you can imagine. Resistance and misunderstanding are all over the place; you won’t find a perfect recipe to excel in this role.
Companies face the challenge of hiring someone they need but do not see that clearly.
Apart from overcoming anti-patterns, it’s challenging for professionals to know what it takes to become a Scrum Master. I would say it takes a lot of skin, experience, and humility to master this role. Yet, how the market defines being a good fit for Scrum Masters scares me.
Most companies won’t hire someone without a Scrum Master certificate. And the certificate itself is a massive trap. Anyone can get certified without understanding how to be a Scrum Master. For example, Scrum Alliance will certify you as a Scrum Master after a two-day training session, and Scrum.org will give you the badge after scoring 85% on an online exam. Does that mean you’re ready to do the job? Many companies would say yes, and I’d say no.
Certificates may help you understand the basics of Scrum but won’t make you ready for the job.
Unfortunately, a flawed perception of what being a Scrum Master entails will ensure many companies will never surpass a pointless version of Scrum. Sadly companies with such wrong perceptions need Scrum Masters the most to move to a true agile world. If luck isn’t on their side, they will end up hiring a Scrum Master unprepared for the job, and relying on chance is a bad business choice.
Let me share common traps with Scrum Masters and what it takes to succeed in this role.
Hiring The Wrong Scrum Master
You probably get ten different answers if you ask ten companies what a Scrum Master is. And if you ask ten employees of the same company, you potentially get ten different answers too. That makes it incredibly hard to find Scrum Masters because these people should master the role and help the organization understand what Scrum is and how to excel.
What puzzles me is how people get into the role of a Scrum Master. Some common ways are:
Project Manager: As companies move to agile frameworks, there are fewer positions for project managers, and they see a need to find an alternative in their careers. Scrum Master generally becomes an exciting option.
Certification: People realize the high number of open positions for Scrum Masters and get certified in the hope of getting a job. And believe me, they will get a place because companies like badges.
Fresh from college: Some companies perceive the Scrum Master as a “junior” position for their teams, as they run “well” and just need someone to keep the Scrum events and facilitate retrospectives. This is a job that inexperienced people could do, and companies will welcome professionals straight from college.
Before I share my thoughts about it, let’s look at the Scrum Guide and understand what the Scrum Master is:
The Scrum Master is accountable for establishing Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide. They do this by helping everyone understand Scrum theory and practice, both within the Scrum Team and the organization.
I wonder how someone inexperienced will be able to live up to these expectations. How can you help someone understand something you have never practiced? How can you convince stubborn stakeholders about new ways of working?
I think I don’t need to state the obvious. Anyway, I will break it to you:
Hiring the wrong Scrum Master ensures no meaningful change will happen. And Scrum teams won’t go farther than feature factory teams.
Good Scrum Masters
I’ve had a few chances to work with outstanding Scrum Masters, and I could understand their impact on the company. Before working with such professionals, I had a different image of Scrum Masters. I thought they would help teams grow and benefit from Scrum; though this understanding is correct, the role goes beyond that.
Good Scrum Masters can help companies transform their work and help stakeholders be open to different approaches. In short, they pave the way for a transformation to happen. Although the job is highly demanding, stressful, and complex, the journey can be incredible. This is critical to enable companies to become agile.
I want to share some examples of what good Scrum Masters can do:
Buy-in from Leadership: Good Scrum Masters know how to understand companies’ leadership and find the right words to get their support. They meet the leadership team where they are and show how Scrum can help the organization grow.
Business Stakeholder: Continuously, Scrum Masters coach stakeholders to learn how to collaborate with Scrum teams, what’s helpful and what’s not. When Scrum Masters dominate the art of giving and receiving feedback, they help stakeholders and teams grow together.
Product Owner: There’s a natural tension between Product Owners and Scrum Masters, one wants the team to deliver more, and the other wants a sustainable balance. Great Scrum Masters can help Product Owners build psychological safety within Scrum teams, ultimately creating outstanding results. On top of that, when they learn how to become partners in crime, everyone benefits from it.
Solving Conflicts: Helping teams grow is demanding; it goes beyond doing what they want. It’s about helping them solve unspoken conflicts. Scrum Masters must identify what keeps teams from growing and find meaningful ways of helping them progress. Solving conflicts isn’t just essential but mandatory to unlock the teams’ potential.
Agile Journey: There’s no shortcut to becoming agile. It’s a journey; it will take years to be a truly agile organization. Real Scrum Masters know that and take leaders, stakeholders, and Scrum teams on a journey. They meet them just a step ahead and help them move step after step towards true agility.
Becoming a true Scrum Master takes years. Give yourself time for that. One of the secrets is getting comfortable with the uncomfortable. To stand out as a Scrum Master, you must master the art of helping people reflect and understand. It’s not about giving answers or directions but about finding powerful questions to ask.
“The scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, he’s one who asks the right questions.”
― Claude Levi-Strauss
Final Thoughts
Scrum Master is a complex job, and almost everyone misunderstands it. People will be resistant to this role, they may think it’s unnecessary and pointless, and that’s precisely when they need you the most.
I would even dare say Scrum Master is a despised role. People won’t welcome you with open arms. On the contrary, they will ignore you and try pushing you away from them. Overcoming resistance is mandatory to thrive wearing this hat.
Before you sign up for a Scrum Master role, you better know what it takes to succeed. I genuinely admire people taking up this responsibility, and I’m glad I met great ones during my journey. My tip for the ones longing for a Scrum Master role:
Understand the job goes way beyond Scrum. It’s about transforming how people think and drastically adapting their mental models.
Get a mentor who led teams on agile transformation and learn from them. If possible, work with them and get hands-on practice. This will help you develop the skills required to overcome the inevitable traps.
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”
– Albert Einstein
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