Scrum Masters: Where to go when you don’t know where to go

Being a Scrum Master is hard

There is no easy way of describing it: it’s a hard role to perform, and even harder role to perform well. Even six months into my first year in the role as a Scrum Master, and I would still sometimes not be entirely sure what to do when not facilitating, as I was not fully comfortable wearing all those hats. But I slowly tried them on and move the bar forward.

But there’s no escape, at one point or another, you will feel the Impostor Syndrome. As Geoff Watts, author of the book Scrum Mastery, describes it here, “This is partly because of the lack of authority inherent in the role. [Scrum Masters] have no power, and so often find themselves doubting themselves and their position. Their role is also quite loosely defined in terms of their responsibilities and that increases the lack of clarity and confidence that Scrum Masters can have.”

Even now, after more than one year of being a Scrum Master, I still go through all of this. Asking myself, how can I help my team more, how can I help them grow? What should I do next to best help the business?

A few answers that often helps me gets centered are:

• “Go back to the Agile Manifesto’s values and principles.” Re-check the team’s basics. Any of the main values that you need to revisit with the team? Or how about a workshop discussion regarding one of the principles?
• “Get to know your teams’ members.” It’s part of the Scrum Masters job to get to know the team members and create a friendly rapport. People’s skills are a must. If you are not interested in the well-being, growth, and success of each team member, then you will have a harder time performing your job well.
• “Take it to the team.” Similarly to what Product Owners should do, you shouldn’t be making decisions for the team without consulting them first. 

You will be tempted at times to tell your team the answer to a problem or a direction they should go. Avoid it at all costs. Rather, ask powerful questions and guide them to find the answer or direction on their own. A solution that they come up with is much more likely to be acted upon than a solution that was told to them.