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