How do you recognize bad Scrum Master behavior?

My Scrum Master leads all Scrum Events

Does your Scrum Master take all the notes? Is it a person who actively asks all the questions and gives everyone the floor? Does that cause your mind to wander and you find yourself thinking about all the work you could still be doing instead of waiting your turn? If so, it’s not on the mark.

A nice running Scrum team is self-managing. That means nobody sits back and nobody pulls hard. You just work together and everyone looks at what needs to be done, to meet the Sprint goal . The better Scrum Master coaches the team to keep conversations short and focused. If the team can do that themselves, it will go well even if the Scrummaster is not there for a time.

Agile coach training difference from Scrum Master

My Scrum Master defines the process

Does your Scrum Master tell you how to formulate Backlog items? Do you get grudging feedback if your User Story doesn’t properly describe what you’re going to do? Does your Scrum Master demand that you give all Backlog items points with Planning Poker? Do you have to discuss even the simplest jobs at length? Do you totally fail to see the point? Again, this is not how it should be done.

Scrum only provides frameworks within which the team itself determines its process. The whole team, not just the Scrum Master. An example. The Scrum framework says only that in a Sprint you pick up an amount of work that is achievable and serves a clear purpose. Whether you determine that quantity with Planning Poker, or just by feel, is entirely up to the team. Together, you make that process ever more efficient. The better Scrum Master facilitates this growth towards a smooth process, but does not steer!

My Scrum Master is almost never around

Does your Scrummaster only come in during the Sprint Retrospective? Do you then proceed the same way every time? And do the same points of improvement come out of it? Do you feel that the real conversation never takes place? Then you are dealing with seagull behavior. Fly on, bite and leave again. That’s not how you keep a team running smoothly.

Keeping a team running smoothly is done from commitment, accessibility and presence. The better Scrummaster builds good relationships with the team, but keeps enough distance to make observations from the overview. Such a Scrummaster facilitates the difficult conversation and makes unspoken tensions negotiable. That’s how you become stronger together as a team.

My Scrum Master determines content – it’s a project manager

Does the Scrum Master choose the architecture of the solution? Is your Scrum Master the Single Point of Contact (SPOC) with the other teams? Does the Scrum Master set deadlines and follow up on all tasks? If so, you are dealing with a project leader in disguise.

The Scrum Master’s service to the team consists mainly of coaching and facilitation. While it is possible to combine the roles of Scrum Master and architect, it is not necessary. If you do it, it’s smart to clearly separate the roles. For example, you can literally put on a Scrum Master hat when you take the role.

Seen one or more behaviors? Engage in conversation

The real Scrum feeling is that you enjoy your work. You feel part of the team and notice that you achieve more together than alone. You can use your creativity in your work and with clever interventions you make your work more and more interesting. Many or useless meetings do not fit into that picture.

Is your Scrum Master not making sure of that? Is that person not working toward that? Then it’s time to engage in conversation. If you can’t come up with clear steps together to do something about it, consider advanced Scrummaster training. Or invite an expert to work with the team to recalibrate the Scrum framework.

Curious why such a Scrum Master Training II is good for your Scrum Master and the whole team? Wondering how we, as Agile experts with lots of experience in the field, can support? Please feel free to get in touch.