Who’s taking care of the Scrum Master?
The Scrum Master is the shepherd of the Scrum framework. To serve the Product Owner, the Developers as well as the wider organization and stakeholders. In many organizations, the Scrum Master acts as a confidant with whom you can share your personal thoughts. And I like that. I appreciate it. It really allows for a coaching relationship to form.
Having someone to vent your frustrations with, to share your concerns, to help you share feedback with peers is invaluable to keep a clear mind. A clear mind, in turn, provides the ability to flourish and create value (you know, as we’re supposed to do in Scrum). But who takes care of the Scrum Master? Mostly the Scrum Master, really.
Find your overpressure valve
I always had the feeling that talking to someone about my feelings wasn’t cool. But as I matured, I found out it was something else. The reason why I never opened up about how I felt was that I didn’t want to show vulnerability. It made me feel weak. It’s almost as if I was human. I became a volcano, waiting to erupt.
I’ll dig into that story in a different article (so make sure to follow, wink wink). My point being, no one can handle everything alone. Even listening to other people’s problems all day can become a burden after a while. The mental aspect of work, especially complex work, is being overlooked easily.
Personally, I used to have at least 1 session with a psychologist every month for roughly 2 years. Was it comfortable? Not always. Was it helpful, necessary even? Absolutely. Not just to relieve yourself from all the stress one accumulates over time, but it also can provide you with different perspectives and ideas. 1 in 7 people in the Netherlands alone, experience a mental burn-out. Work-related stress absence increased from 24 days in 2015 to over 30 in 2019. Psychologists might not be your cup of tea. A coach or mentor might fit better in your case. Just know that there are options.
I can’t point out enough to keep your own mental health at a sustainable level. I experienced a burn-out myself before becoming a Scrum Master, and I can assure you it’s no fun. Although there are upsides to it; I learned so much about myself and that helped me improve overall life quality. It was a pivotal moment for me.
Don’t be a caveman
In these days of Zoom overkill and constantly working behind a laptop (like yours truly right now), staying inside is easy. Go out, have your calls outside. Get your bike out. Being outside has a lot of benefits for mental health. It:
- Improves your mood
- Reduces stress and anxiety
- Supports an active lifestyle
- Gets you out of a work setting, relaxing
Spending time in nature has been found to help with mental health problems including anxiety and depression. For example, research into ecotherapy (a type of formal treatment which involves doing activities outside in nature) has shown it can help with mild to moderate depression. This might be due to combining regular physical activity and social contact with being outside in nature.
At the time of writing this article, the weather outside is great. Sunny, 20 degrees Celcius. One of my daughters noticed a ladybug outside, so we went outside. I just sat down, in the sun, on my front lawn. I could literally feel a physical effect of relaxation. It made me realize how much time I spend indoors and how easy it is to forget to go outside. Blocking time in my calendar ensures that I indeed go out. Somebody once told me I should schedule more things, as I seem to forget them (and with somebody, I mean my wife. And with once, I definitely do not mean once). All jokes aside, it’s good to mark these things down that don’t tangibly affect your work.
Find your fellow Scrum Masters
Chances are quite high that you’re working with multiple Scrum Masters in your organization. If it’s not set already, I can highly recommend creating a community of practice. Working and exchanging experiences and thoughts with your peers help you feel you’re in it together. What we did from the start of the agile transformation in one of my previous assignments is create one of those groups. We used Liberating Structures like Troika Consulting and Wise Crowds to gather and share experience and help others find potential solutions to their challenges.
It’s difficult to lead change as a one-man army. Unless you have extreme influencing skills, of course. Groups like this expand your network and potentially new skills. Many books, courses, frameworks, or podcast suggestions came via events like this, which ultimately made me a better Scrum Master. Besides that, you get the opportunity to take a step back, zoom out (very important these days with all the Zoom marathons), and see the situation from someone else’s perspective.
Sometimes you need to put yourself first
Don’t see this as being egocentric. It’s impossible to properly care for someone else if you’re not taking care of yourself. Currently, my overpressure valve is playing Call of Duty Warzone with my best friends. Why this? Because it’s a great way to still have a sense of social interaction and something completely unrelated to work. In times where everything is closed and I can’t go out to visit them, this works perfectly for me. During the pandemic, every day can feel like just another day. Doing stuff completely other than work is tremendously beneficial to boost my sense of social interaction. But Scrum Masters; please keep your own mental health to heart as well.
