Tag: scrum master

What we carry into a new job

A while ago, I came across a post on Instagram from a psychologist. Sadly, I didn’t make a note of who wrote it.

The post was about dating after the end of a relationship. One idea in particular stayed with me: when you begin a new relationship, you don’t arrive as a blank slate. You bring aspects of the previous relationship with you.

He said, “Your nervous system is still calibrated to your last relationship.”

Not necessarily because you want it to be, but because experience shapes expectations. Things that happened before can affect what you notice, what you worry about and what feels safe.

And recently I’ve been thinking: the same is true when we start a new job.

Continue reading What we carry into a new job

As trust grows, the Scrum Master steps back

A Scrum Master’s role should not remain static.

A new team may need active guidance to understand Scrum, establish useful habits and create a safe environment for honest conversations. As the team matures and trust grows, however, the Scrum Master should begin to work differently.

From guidance to ownership

Less mature teams may depend heavily on the Scrum Master to:

  • facilitate every event
  • resolve every obstacle
  • encourage difficult conversations
  • maintain the board that visualises the work
  • remind people about agreed ways of working
  • protect the team from outside disruption

This support may be necessary at first. But if it continues indefinitely, the Scrum Master can become another dependency.

A mature team increasingly takes responsibility for these things itself. I often joke with teams that a Scrum Master’s ultimate goal is to eventually put themselves out of a job.

Team members facilitate conversations, raise problems early and challenge unhelpful behaviour. They adapt their working practices without waiting for permission.

Continue reading As trust grows, the Scrum Master steps back

My new book is available: What kind of problem is this?

Book cover for What kind of problem is this? It shows an illustration of the Cynefin framework: four domains, clear, complicated, complex and chaotic.
My new book’s cover

I’m delighted to say that my new book, What kind of problem is this?, is now available to buy from Lulu.

The full title is What kind of problem is this? A Scrum Master’s field guide to using Cynefin in real team situations.

It is a practical book for Scrum Masters, Agile Coaches, Product Owners, delivery leaders and anyone who works with Scrum but has sometimes wondered why the same practices work beautifully in one situation and fall flat in another.

Continue reading My new book is available: What kind of problem is this?

Scrum Masters and Cynefin – when the team needs stability first

This is the fourth and final post in a short series exploring the Scrum Master role through the four main Cynefin domains:

  • clear
  • complicated
  • complex
  • chaotic

The first post looked at the clear domain, where simple rules and repeatable practice can help.

The second post looked at the complicated domain, where teams need expertise, analysis and informed judgement.

The third post looked at the complex domain, where teams need feedback, experiments and learning.

This post looks at the chaotic domain.

What is the chaotic domain?

In the chaotic domain, the situation is unstable.

Cause and effect are unclear.

There may be pressure, urgency, confusion or even panic.

The team does not have enough stability to analyse the problem properly. It may not even be clear what the problem is yet.

Continue reading Scrum Masters and Cynefin – when the team needs stability first

Scrum Masters and Cynefin – where learning matters most

This is the third post in a short series exploring the Scrum Master role through the four main Cynefin domains:

  • clear
  • complicated
  • complex
  • chaotic

The first post looked at the clear domain, where simple rules and repeatable practice can help.

The second post looked at the complicated domain, where teams need expertise, analysis and informed judgement.

This post looks at the complex domain.

What is the complex domain?

In the complex domain, the relationship between cause and effect can only be understood afterwards.

The work is uncertain. The team cannot simply apply a checklist or ask an expert for the right answer. There may be no single right answer.

Instead, the team needs to learn through action.

Continue reading Scrum Masters and Cynefin – where learning matters most