Scrum Master: When you want to change the world, but they say optimize Jira board or set up daily standup event...
Does that sound familiar? Often, we find ourselves in the trap of doing daily routines and missing the opportunities to think big, or even worse, to observe our behaviors as Scrum Masters. We get irritated continuously by statements like, "You have to organize the events and create tickets on the board. What else is Scrum master for?"
And, I have noticed that if this attitude continues, we start believing that it is accurate, and at some point, we question ourselves, is it what I want to do?
Some tips to avoid such traps:
1. It is never about you; it is about the team. Your success is the team's success.
2. Constant learning will open new horizons on what else you could do. Understand what the level of your knowledge and experience is. Are you able to move beyond updating boards and organizing events now?
3. Stop thinking of "self-managing team" as a myth.
4. Understand your team, find root causes for each request. If they ask for a board update, first clarify why do they want you to do that? If there is a lack of knowledge, educate them.
5. Do not try to change their mindsets first; change how they approach day-to-day work.
6. If you are in a trap, refer to Agile Values: will this action move us closer to the specific Agile Value?
7. Behavior is a function of environment and personality. The environment is easier to change.
8. Start observing yourself, how good you are at what you do. What is the value that you bring to your team? If you do not see it, then nobody will.
9. Think of the change as something global that might go beyond your team's responsibilities or capabilities.
10. As a Scrum Master, you can use different techniques as mentoring, training, coaching, counseling. Know the differences.
11. Ensure your team understands what they are doing, and most importantly, why they are doing it?
12. Do you know your organization? What are the goals, the culture, the objectives, the value to customers?
13. Answer these questions: Do you have enough patience to listen to hundreds of requests and complaints? Do you have enough wisdom to identify what is essential and what is not? Are you listening thoroughly to catch the essence? Are you able to share genuine knowledge? Are you able to see the big picture?
14. Enjoy working with people and making decisions, even if they are not right.
15. Understand the core idea behind experimenting.
16. Find something in your life that will invariably boost your energy and positivity because you will need it a lot. :)
If you do all of these things, you will never question yourself, "is it what I want to do?" And no one from your team will ever ask, "why do we need a Scrum Master?"
There is an evolution you should go through, so it is a neverending journey.
Good luck!
