The road to scrum master
A question I continuously ask myself is what’s next? This can be ‘what’s my next meal?’ or ‘where will I next live?’. However, I’m beginning to recognise, it’s often the unexpected, rather than the pre-planned, that leads you to where you need to go.
And that’s what happened to me earlier this year when I was offered the opportunity to step up as an apprentice Scrum Master. This was a move that would allow me to do something radically different, learn a brand-new skill and remain within my team. With all the foresight in the world, I could never have planned for this ‘what’s next’.
So where to begin? Fortunately, for the previous three months I’d been a participant on “sprints” and had come to understand the basics of being Agile, the jargon, and the format. I observed the scrum master role in action, listened to the questions and watched the magic at work. I became curious, listening and questioning; absorbing the approach. As I was part of it, not only did I quickly develop an understanding of why it worked but also how I could put my own stamp on it.
As I prepared to launch myself into my scrum master “apprenticeship”, I felt like I had found the perfect job — until a meeting with my mentor. The secret of success in this role, he said, was “invisibility”. Alarm bells started ringing in my head, as being “invisible” has never been a key strength of mine. Sensing my anxiety, he changed tack. “You’re there to guide, listen and ultimately enable one kick-ass team”. That sounded better. There was only one question left in my mind: could I pull this off?
Day 1. The training wheels came off and I was let loose on my first sprint. The team looked to me as their guiding light. I suddenly felt overwhelmed. But I took great comfort in my father’s sage advice. “Katrina, remember the five P’s,” he would say, “Perfect planning prevents poor performance”. However, despite all the perfect planning I believed I had done, the team sets the direction, not you. I learned quickly to step back, adapt quickly and be there in service of my team.
Once the sprint starts, the ‘what’s next’ never stops. My mind was in overdrive, considering all outcomes, nudging the team as we went. I suddenly became the coach on the sidelines, providing pep talks and half-time strategy meetings, as well as acting as their number one cheerleader. Personally, it was a roller coaster of emotions but, most importantly, I had to learn not to show them. As a team member you are encouraged to share how you are feeling (the good, the bad and the ugly) but as scrum master you must be calm, in control, and remain positive at all costs. This was about the team, not me.
Fast-forward to day 14. With huge pride, I took a step back and watched the team present at the showcase. They no longer looked to me for guidance or approval. They had overcome the challenges, revelled in breakthroughs, and now had a solution they were excited about. As the meeting finished, it dawned on me I had also achieved a key “apprenticeship” milestone. My personal success was in achieving the goal suggested by my mentor: I had become invisible.
With the next sprint looming, the two pieces of advice I’d pass on the next apprentice scrum master would be:
- Be invisible: Your role is to listen, listen, and then listen some more. You are no longer a team player responsible for getting the tasks done; instead it’s about working seamlessly behind the scenes to help keep the team is on track.
- Be visible: Your team need to know you are there for them at all times. The success of the sprint largely depends on how your team feel. You need to become comfortable with casually catching up with people, just to check how they are and be extra curious when you feel like you’re not getting the full picture.
So, what’s next for me? It will be continuing to hone my new super power of being invisible.
