Scrum Master- Role That Can Bring The Change

 

Organizations are continuously in competition to gain advantages by improving values driven by their software development. Organizations take advantage of opportunities, and effective responses, and challenge deliberately to each other while controlling risks, and optimizing investment returns. To obtain all these organizations turn towards agile processes like scrum taking initiative to become lean. Scrum masters in such situations play a major role.

Scrum masters are always considered the true leaders who serve as scrum guides. In various articles, we have already discussed the importance and responsibilities of a scrum master. Scrum masters with their working and is being themselves can be role models that bring so much change in agility by their behaviour instead of only teaching theories to their teams. Today’s discussion is for aspiring scrum masters out there who want to influence change in the workplace with their behaviour rather than only with theories.

“Behaviour is the mirror in which everyone shows their images.”- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

As a leader, it is necessary to show what you believe in your actions instead of only talking about them. To know that anyone has an agile mindset is easy to understand from their behaviour as reading the mindset is not possible. By showing the agile mindset with your behaviour scrum master can easily set an example for their team to improve themselves in agility.

Commitment

Every scrum master must have the basic value of commitment in their behaviour. The scrum master must commit to agility, professionalism and integrity. Integrity and professionalism go hand in hand in agile. Doing the right things even when no one is looking means having integrity and professionalism. In scrum integrity and professionalism are pushed at the forefront. For example, when customers or managers force your team to deliver more than doable product backlog items. If you force your teams to work extra time or pressure them to complete the things or encourage them to skip items for definition f done then you don’t have the integrity and professionalism. You need to value the commitment by showing integrity and professionalism.

Continuous Learning

As a scrum master, you always encourage the team to do craftsmanship and improve their skills. You try to facilitate teams to go further extent in improving their required skills and force them to bring technical excellence to their task but while doing so does you do the same? Do you put the effort in facilitation and understand it better for performing. Does your senior and team see the effort you put to improve yourselves in your tasks? So scrum masters must commit to excellence and always try to improve themselves in every aspect possible being a role model for the team to do the same.

Courage

Courage is also an important behaviour aspect in a scrum. More scrum masters must have the courage to challenge the state or scope. Many scrum masters confirm the state or scope but do not challenge it as they are afraid that the management will not like it and will go against them. Many scrum masters sugar-coat the information to make it look good in front of managers and seniors instead of stating it straightforward and finding a reliable solution where required. Scrum masters also must be courageous to state the right thing if anyone is being unprofessional or doing wrong. Being silent when you know there are critical things that need to be paid attention to is not good behaviour as a scrum master. The scrum master must always be aware of reflecting the behaviour of courage so that their team will also learn the same from them. While doing so they must also be courageous to challenge their assumptions for the betterment of the product and team.

Focus

Scrum always values focus. At the project level, people get distracted by the technologies or goals they don’t even need.  Even while sprinting discussion toward goals they may get distracted by the topics that are not related to the goal. Even sometimes teams get distracted from the outside teams and individual's continuous disturbance. This distraction from the goals will slower the pace making team less agile. So as a scrum master they are more focused on their daily, sprint and product goals without having any distractions. This will also build up confidence and behaviour in a team to be focused on their tasks and goals.

Openness

Scrum master needs to be open about their goals, plans, and issues related to the project with their team and seniors. As it helps in improving organization agility by building trust in each other and new ideas.

“If you want to change attitudes, start with a change in behaviour.”- William Glasser

Start for change with your behaviour and be a role model to your team with the right agile mindset.

We, at Advance Agility, are the new-age Agile Coaching, Consulting and IT services company. We enable end-to-end Digital Transformation. Agile execution is integral to our being. We are doing SAFe implementation with small, medium and large organization across the globe. Our vision is to be the leading Agile execution player globally. To keep adding value at every process stage. We are on a mission to empower our clients, move from concept to cash in the shortest sustainable lead time by adopting human centric approach to business agility. Embracing the change is in our DNA. Things that keep us apart are Quicker and Seamless execution with End-to-end gamut of services. Our Global presence and Stellar Track Record give us an edge over our competitor.

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