Scrum Master- Guide to transitioning to a successful servant leader

Servant leadership is a style of leadership that puts the team’s needs above their own. Scrum Masters who adopt this style of leadership can be successful in creating a productive and positive work environment. By putting the team first, Scrum Masters can help to build trust and respect, which are essential for a successful Scrum implementation.

A successful servant leader 

• Is selfless, 
• Always puts the team’s needs first.
• Trusts the team and appreciates their contributions. 
• Have empathy and powerful listening skills. 

In addition to being a servant leader, you should also have a deep understanding of Scrum and its principles in order to be successful as Scrum Master for that enroll for  certified scrum master training from Universal agile. You should be able to communicate effectively with both the Scrum team and the stakeholders. Lastly, you must be patient and understand that change takes time.

If you are looking to be a successful Scrum Master, then servant leadership is a style of leadership worth considering. By putting the team’s needs first, you can help create an environment of trust and respect that is essential for Scrum’s success.

Who is a Scrum Master?

A Scrum Master is someone who helps to guide a team in using the Scrum framework to achieve success. They must be able to put the needs of the team above their own and help to create an environment where the team trusts and respects each other. By doing so, they can help to foster a productive and positive work environment. 

Can anyone become a scrum master?

Scrum Guide is just a 14-page document, perhaps the easiest-to-understand framework for managing projects. Scrum looks simpler and familiar but when it comes to implementation, the challenges are many.

While Scrum Masters do not need to have a specific background or be certified in order to be successful, there are certain personality traits that can make someone a good Scrum Master. These include:

• being able to put the needs of the team above their own
• having a servant leadership style
• being able to foster an environment of trust and respect
• having a good understanding of Scrum and the Scrum framework

Role of certification in Scrum Master’s life

59% of Scrum Masters are certified as per the state of Scrum Survey by Scrum Alliance while 81% of respondents believe certification has helped their Scrum practice. Though a formal certification is not mandatory to take the role of Scrum Master, it’s imperative that you understand the fundamentals of scrum really well. 

Scrum Master as Servant Leader

Servant leadership is a philosophy in which the leader puts the needs of the team above their own. The Scrum Master is a servant leader, meaning that their primary focus is on helping the team to be successful. The Scrum Master must put the needs of the team above their own and help to foster an environment of trust and respect. By being a servant leader, the Scrum Master can help to create a productive and positive work environment that will lead to success.

Scrum Master role in the team 

• Establishing Scrum
• Ensuring Scrum Team’s effectiveness

Scrum Master achieves this by 

• Coaching the team member
• Help the Scrum team in creating value for the customer 
• Removal of impediments 
• Ensuring that all Scrum events take place

The way Scrum Guide explains the role of a scrum master might be confusing to some of you. The emphasis on implementation of scrum is so intense that sometimes you feel scrum master must be loyal to scrum philosophy alone. This is true in a sense. It’s important to have a passion for scrum.

As a Scrum master, your ultimate loyalty is to the team and the Scrum process, not to your own personal goals or agendas. You should be focused on helping the team achieve their goals and ensuring that the Scrum process is being followed correctly. This may require putting your own needs aside at times in order to help the team succeed. The Scrum Master must be willing to put the team first in order to be an effective leader.

Scrum Master and Product Owner

The Scrum Master and product owner relationship is an important one. The Scrum Master must be able to work effectively with the product owner to ensure that the product backlog is properly prioritized and that the team has everything they need to be successful. The Scrum Master can communicate with the team and translate their needs into actionable items for the product backlog. The Scrum Master should provide feedback to the product owner on how well the team is performing and what improvements can be made.

Scrum Masters role in sprint

As a Scrum Master, you must ensure that the sprint is successful. This includes helping the team to stay on track, ensuring that they have everything they need, and resolving any issues that may arise. As a Scrum Master, you must also be able to effectively communicate with the stakeholders, ensuring that they are apprised of the progress of the sprint.

As a servant leader, the Scrum Master puts the needs of the team above their own and helps to create an environment of trust and respect to make the sprint a success.

Scrum Masters role in sprint planning

The entire scrum team should attend a sprint planning meeting. This includes developers, the product owner, the scrum master, and other stakeholders. The scrum master facilitates sprint planning sessions to ensure that the discussion is timeboxed, effective, and follows the scrum framework.

Scrum master’s role in daily scrum

The Scrum Master’s role in the Daily Scrum is to ensure that the meeting is productive and that everyone is on track. They need to be able to keep the meeting on topic and help to resolve any conflicts or issues that may arise. The Scrum Master should also be available to answer any questions that the team may have.

Scrum master role in Sprint Review

The Scrum Master’s role in the Sprint Review is to ensure that the meeting is productive and that everyone understands what was accomplished during the sprint. They must ensure that all stakeholders have the information they need to make informed decisions about the future of the project. The Scrum Master should also be prepared to answer any questions that may arise during the meeting.

Scrum master’s role during Sprint Retrospective

The benefits of retrospectives are significant and can be seen in teams with 20% higher balanced performance, suggests the survey by CA Technologies. 

Retrospectives are a great way to improve the efficiency and quality of work. Teams that have regular sprint retrospectives give 24% more responsiveness than those without them, while also having 42% higher overall satisfaction with less variability in their product or service delivery as per the survey by State of Scrum Report 2021. 

The Scrum Master’s role during the Sprint Retrospective is to ensure that the team has the opportunity to reflect on their past Sprint and identify areas for improvement. The Scrum Master should create a safe environment where team members can openly discuss their experiences and share their thoughts. By doing this, the Scrum Master can help the team to identify any issues that may be preventing them from achieving success.

Scrum Masters role in creating Scrum Artifacts 

The Scrum Master must ensure that the artifacts are accurate and up-to-date and that they are helping the team in achieving the sprint goals. Also that the team is transparent in sharing all the artifacts with relevant stakeholders.  Artifacts are helping the team to inspect & Adapt.

In case of team conflicts 

Scrum Masters play a critical role in helping teams resolve conflicts. When team members are working together closely, it is inevitable that disagreements will arise. The Scrum Master must be able to step in and help the team to resolve these conflicts in a productive way. They must be objective and neutral while helping the team to communicate effectively and resolve any issues. By doing so, the Scrum Master can help the team to stay focused on their goals and achieve success.

Scrum Master’s responsibility towards the organization? 

95% of participants from the State of Scrum survey believe that scrum will expand beyond software. As a certified or experienced scrum master, you need to lead the change.  

Scrum Guide also talks about Scrum Master’s role beyond the team.They must help the larger organization understand Scrum theory and framework. As Scrum Master, you should be able to coach teams beyond your own. This helps the organization adapt scrum across teams. 

As a scrum master, you are a change agent who is ready to 

• Lead scrum adoption
• Plan and advise scrum implementation within your organization
• Train and coach other teams 
• Make other teams and stakeholders understand the empirical process and its effectiveness with complex projects. 
• Smoothen communication between stakeholders and Scrum teams.

How to be an effective Scrum Master? 

There are many ways that a Scrum Master can be effective. One way is by being a servant leader. Servant leaders put the needs of the team above their own and help to foster an environment of trust and respect. By being a servant leader, the Scrum Master can help to create a productive and positive work environment that will lead to success.

Another way that a Scrum Master can be effective is by being knowledgeable about Scrum. The Scrum Master must have a good understanding of the Scrum framework and how it can be used to improve the team’s productivity. 

The scrum master can coach the team and help them to understand how Scrum can help them to achieve their goals.

As the Scrum Master, you must also be able to effectively manage sprints. They must be able to determine what tasks need to be completed and ensure that the team is on track to complete them. They must also be able to identify any impediments that the team may be facing and help to remove them. By doing so, the Scrum Master can help the team to stay focused and deliver a successful product.

Interview questions related to the role and responsibilities of a scrum master

• What is your understanding of the Scrum framework?
• How have you been able to use Scrum to improve the team’s productivity?
• What are some of the common impediments that teams face and how do you help to remove them?
• What is your experience with sprint management? 
• How do you ensure that the team stays focused and on track?
• What are some of the techniques that you use to help resolve conflicts within the team?
• How do you foster an environment of trust and respect within the team? Share examples.
• What are your thoughts on servant leadership?
• How do you think a Scrum Master?

As Scrum Master, it is essential to be knowledgeable about Scrum and how it can help the team to be productive. The Scrum Master must also be able to effectively manage sprints and ensure that the team stays on track. They must be able to identify any impediments that the team may face and help to remove them. By doing so, the Scrum Master can help the team to stay focused and deliver a successful product.