HOW DO YOU MOTIVATE YOUR TEAM AS A SCRUM MASTER?

Here's the hard reality you should know: You can't. You can't motivate your team. Instead, you can cause them to get motivated. How? You can provide the needed environment to make people motivated. You can help in supporting people by removing obstacles to their

HOW TO EXCEL AS A SCRUM MASTER?

... a better question perhaps: How to open a big door to get hired and grow in your career path? These questions seem to be challenging to answer, but here are some tips that you can start with: Start developing skills that most Scrum Masters don't have The ones

How to introduce yourself as a Scrum Master?

Many Scrum Masters struggle to do this, and they fear not positioning themselves correctly from the start within a team. Introducing yourself will have a big impact on how people will perceive you in the future, so it is something very important, especially for the Scrum Master role. The problem

FOUR SECRET TOOLS THAT HELP SCRUM MASTERS BECOME TRUE LEADERS

As a Scrum Master, you are already a leader - the Scrum Guide (2020) clearly states: "Scrum Masters are true leaders who serve the Scrum Team and the larger organization." But what does it really mean to be a "True Leader?" Earlier editions (2017) of the

HOW CAN THE SCRUM MASTER MAKE HIS WORK NOTICEABLE AND CONCRETE ENOUGH?

Throughout my career as a Scrum master, I struggled a lot when in making my work noticeable and concrete enough to make everyone appreciate the difference I can make. I was in a situation where I need to speak different languages. The language of business people, of managers, of the

SCRUM MASTER: “HOW DOES YOUR FUTURE LOOK LIKE?”

We are facing a very uncertain future and the market will experience difficult situations, with mass layoffs, AI, the declining reputation of Agile/Scrum, etc … To stand a better chance to navigate this future, start to build a different skill that can clearly position you to create better results for

WHY IS A SCRUM MASTER CALLED TRUE LEADER IN THE SCRUM GUIDE 2020?

Because while it is necessary to be a servant Leader, it is not sufficient to make a difference in teams or organizations. In the Scrum guide 2020, the Scrum Master accountabilities are to: 1. Establish Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide 2. Help the team & Organization understand Scrum

TRUE LEADERSHIP IS AN ACT!

In general, True leadership is indeed an act and not a role. Everyone can perform acts of Leadership. It involves taking deliberate and intentional actions to inspire and guide others toward a common goal supporting them to focus on what matters in this turbulent and ever-changing world. Scrum Masters should

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR A SCRUM MASTER TO BE A TRUE LEADER

It is written in the Scrum guide 2020: "Scrum Masters are True Leaders who serve the Scrum Team and the larger organization." Even though Scrum Masters strive to be Servant-Leaders, in the day-to-day work of reality, most are considered "servants" only, and not "leaders."

SCRUM MASTERS: THE NEXT GENERATION OF TRUE LEADERS IN KNOWLEDGE WORK

The fact is that we live in a time of constantly changing business environment, and teams and organizations require a new type of leader. True Leaders cause teams and organizations to focus on what matters. Organizations need True Leaders. The Scrum Master is a role that has emerged in recent

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS FOR A SCRUM MASTER TO BECOME A TRUE LEADER?

Most of the teams and companies perceived the role of the Scrum Master as a facilitator/moderator, Scrum events planner, and impediment remover. OK, that's part of this role. But it is not the core and it shouldn't be. In bad cases, the Scrum Master can

WHAT SKILLS AND TRAITS DO SCRUM MASTERS NEED TO BECOME TRUE LEADERS?

Most companies expect the Scrum Master to guide and support a team and the organization in their adoption of Agile methodologies specifically Scrum. But for Scrum Masters who aspire to become True Leaders that make a difference, their impact extends far beyond just applying the Scrum Framework. They see themselves

THE SCRUM MASTER AS A "TRUE LEADER"

The Scrum guide mentioned it in a clear way: “Scrum Masters are true leaders.” But for a lot of Scrum Masters, it is not clear which style of Leadership they need to adopt and act on. There are a lot of styles of Leadership out there: Strategic, Coach-Style, Bureaucratic, Transformational,

HOW DO TRUE LEADERS RUN THE DAILY?

The daily standup is a very powerful meeting. But most of the teams do it in the wrong way. Or maybe they get no value from running it. This happens mainly because it is considered as a round of reporting. From team member #1 to team member #2, and so

WHO ARE THE BEST SCRUM MASTERS?

The best Scrum Masters are True Leaders. They cause the team and the company to change direction and focus on what matters. Internally they lead without authority and influence different disciplines to see the world from their perspective. They will support the Scrum Team and the management to build a

HOW CAN THE SCRUM MASTER BECOME INVOLVED IN IMPORTANT TOPICS?

I struggled with Managers and Teams who expected me to be their administrative assistant - planning, moderating, timing boxing meetings, and so on… I reflected on this and I concluded that their expectations of the role are simply limited to this:  being a “Master of the Ceremony.” When it comes

WHY ARE SCRUM MASTERS NOT INVOLVED IN IMPORTANT TOPICS?

That is the reality in most companies - Scrum Masters are seldom involved in discussing important topics. Scrum Masters are considered as a “nice-to-have” role. Yet, the Scrum Guide states that Scrum Masters are True Leaders. Even though Scrum Masters strive to be Servant-Leaders, In the day-to-day work of reality,

THE SCRUM MASTER BECOMES A TRUE LEADER BY TEACHING OTHERS THE LESSONS LEARNED

This is the 12th and final in a series of 12 posts ("Acts") where I present how the idea of helping Scrum Masters become True Leaders came to be. After a few months of applying the techniques with ever greater success, the Scrum Master approached me and said:

HOW CAN THE SCRUM MASTER FOSTER FOCUSED ACTION BY THE SCRUM TEAM?

This is the 11th in a series of 12 posts ("Acts") where I present how the idea of helping Scrum Masters become True Leaders came to be. The Scrum Master appreciated how the new technique gave the Scrum Team a clear indication - a signal - about potential

HOW CAN THE SCRUM MASTER GUIDE THE SCRUM TEAM TO ACT ON WHAT MATTERS?

This is the 10th in a series of 12 posts ("Acts") where I present how the idea of helping Scrum Masters become True Leaders came to be. The Scrum Master had just learned reading off a chart an indication of where to focus, and had asked: “But… What

CAN A SIMPLE METRIC PROMPT SCRUM MASTERS TO ACT AS TRUE LEADERS?

This is the 9th in a series of 12 posts ("Acts") where I present how the idea of helping Scrum Masters become True Leaders came to be. The Scrum Master, on a quest to become a True Leader, asked me: “Suppose there is such a magic metric, I

WHAT KIND OF METRIC CAN HELP SCRUM MASTERS BECOME TRUE LEADERS?

This is the 8th in a series of 12 posts ("Acts") where I present how the idea of helping Scrum Masters become True Leaders came to be. In the quest of figuring out what Scrum Masters need to do to become True Leaders, my conversations with the Scrum

SHOULD SCRUM MASTERS USE METRICS TO EXERCISE TRUE LEADERSHIP?

This the 7th in a series of 12 posts ("Acts") where I present how the idea of helping Scrum Masters become True Leaders came to be. I was reasoning with the Scrum Master about how to become a True Leader. We convened that the domain of immaterial knowledge-work

HOW CAN SCRUM MASTERS BE LEADERS WHEN COLLABORATIVE KNOWLEDGE-WORK IS INVISIBLE?

This is the 6th in a series of 12 posts ("Acts") where I present how the idea of helping Scrum Masters become True Leaders came to be. The very essence of knowledge-work is that it is immaterial and invisible. Unless the Scrum Masters could refer to some tangible

WHAT SCRUM MASTERS NEED TO DO TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

This is the 5th in a series of 12 posts ("Acts") where I present how the idea of helping Scrum Masters become True Leaders came to be. The conversation with the Scrum Master was, slowly, making progress. The fear of subverting the nature of the Scrum Master’s