A brilliant way how to clarify the ScrumMaster role

Hi guys, in this blog post I wanna explain a way to help teams understand the ScrumMaster role. This post will be very simple and short but sometimes the simplest things are the best ;).

I have observed something interesting when working with teams. It´s not unusual to see people complaining about the ScrumMaster role. They do not complain about the role of a ScrumMaster, they complain because their expectations are not aligned with the ones the ScrumMaster should have.

I have written about the ScrumMaster role a lot. Below you can find several blog posts that I wrote during the last weeks:

• Scrum Master Role
• 30 Reasons Why a Part Time Scrum Master is not optimal
• Scrum Master job description
• Scrum Master as Servant Leader

One of the teams I work with had a situation that almost got out of the control. The environment got quite heavy and the relationship between people was not the best. To solve this kind of situation I thought in doing a 2 hours “get-together” session to clarify roles.

The session was quite simple and the outcome was fantastic. So what did I do in that session?

I asked them to read the blog posts I share above.
I asked the Product Owner and teams to prepare a list of expectations of a ScrumMaster role. And I asked the ScrumMaster to prepare a list of what he thinks his role is.
As an Agile Coach I prepared a list of expectations of what the organisation expects from the ScrumMaster.
During the session I asked one by one to present their expectation on the flip charts. They had enough time to explain what their expectations were and why they were important. I ended this part presenting what the organisation expects from the ScrumMaster.

Having all the expectations on a flip chart I asked them to create a final flipchart with the roles and responsibilities. This gave them the opportunity to create a ScrumMaster role for the team.

Honestly, the final list was not any different from what I presented in my blog posts. I could have sent the blogs and simply ask for a final list. I am kidding ;) Of course I could not. What made the difference was the opportunity for everyone to speak up and to be listened.

Giving the opportunity to people to share what they think and feel it´s extremely powerful. It creates an understanding and eagerness to cooperate. This is exactly what we achieved with this sessions. The outcome was not much different from the original blogs but the team spirit increased and improved quite a lot. I truly believe this session caused some positive effect.

Nowadays, we have the final list in our room to remind everyone what the ScrumMaster role is.

Like I mentioned, this was a very short blog post, but I still believe it will help some people out there.

Did you like this blog post? If yes, do me a favour and share it with your friends by clicking the buttons below ;).

Luis