Anyone who has been around a scrum team will be able to tell you one definitive truth that happens to apply for all scrum teams out there: Mastering Scrum and being a Scrum Master are two entirely different things.
If you have read the Scrum Guide, you’ll note that the role of the Scrum Master is specifically vague. This was intentional. Why? Because the authors realised that prescription, when it comes to ideas of leadership, teamwork, human dynamics, and service is a very bad idea. The Scrum Guide is more about the spirit of the role, not the specific responsibilities.
Unfortunately though, the vagueness allows many of us to not be a great scrum master, but assume that we are, which can be really dangerous.
In this episode I cover three tips on how to go from being a Scrum Master to being a master of Scrum:
- Remember that the Scrum framework is there to allow you to structure your thoughts, not hide behind processes, artifacts, and ceremonies.
- Servant leadership is more about you than it is about everyone else. For every opportunity or challenge you face, your first thought should be, how do I mould or extend myself to meet this event. What skills or responses or resources or state-of-being do I need to get through this event?
- Inquisitivity. Don’t leave home without it. Your main mission in your team is to ensure the success of Scrum. That’s a hard thing to do. So start with a baby-step, always be inquisitive as to why things you have tried have worked, or why they have failed. Then and only then can you become better through the compounding power of continuous improvement.