The role of the Scrum Master Part II - Idea for yourself. Idea for life.

They say he's a facilitator, a guard, a servant leader. They say that he is a type of activist, a person who facilitates the work of others and an exceptionally communicative person. Who is he and what does Scrum Master really do?

In part two of the series "Idea for yourself. Idea for life" we talk about this profession with two people who do it every day. Our first interviewee is Monika Tumidaj - a woman full of inner peace and empathy, who can listen to the needs of another person. A focused mind with experience in the roles of a Designer Programmer and System Analyst. She uses her interpersonal skills and innate creativity at work as Scrum Master and has done so for 4 years! Our second guest is Marcin Aks Grochowina, who has been working in the Internet industry and Scrum for 10 years. He had the opportunity to fulfil his roles as a Photographer, Project Manager, Product Owner, and for the last 1.5 years also as a Scrum Master at FreshMail.  Privately, he also runs the Agile Nuts project.

Visit this page to see part one of the interview including questions 1-5.

Monika Tumidaj (MT):  Try it! If you work in an organization where Scrum is used, the easiest way is to ‘try it in your own backyard’. The choice of training is now very extensive.  It is worth experiencing independently, what this work is connected with and whether it suits you. If so, you can approach certification.

Marcin Aks Grochowina MAG:  For me, the experience of project management was not without significance. During my role as a Project Manager I had the opportunity to talk to stakeholders about the projects being created and developed an understanding of how to formulate business requirements so that they are understood by the team implementing them.  Also, how to build teams motivated to achieve project goals.

In retrospect, however, I will say that finding an experienced mentor can play a key role in the development of Scrum Master.... I did not have this support at the beginning and it led to the development of bad habits, which I repeated over the years in subsequent organizations. It wasn't until I met the right person on my path of development that I was able to understand my mistakes.

I encourage you to use the support of local communities, share or follow threads in groups such as Scrum Assistance, or participate in mentoring programs such as Tech Leaders Polska. I will humbly say that I can be found in any of these places. 

MT: I haven't heard about Scrum Master's {university} studies yet, and this could be a cool idea. Although I graduated in computer science, I don't think it's necessary. I would rather be inclined to the thesis that psychology would be more desirable. SM's work includes working with people, team building, facilitation, mediation, coaching, as well as working with stakeholders and managers. Here, the so called soft skills are more useful.

MAG: In my case, these were bachelor's degrees in computer science and electronic information processing as well as master's studies in management. The first two courses gave me the basics in IT project development, the third one - management theory. As it turned out later - IT majors were useful at the beginning of my work as a Project Manager, and I started to return to management theory during my work as a member of the scrum team.

In my opinion, the most important thing is practice - experience in working with the team and appropriate mentoring. Having the basics, it is worthwhile looking at the training options which prepare you for certification. Not only to get a certificate. But because it is a good place to talk about problems taken from your backyard and discuss them with experienced trainers in almost laboratory conditions (small groups). By the way, acquaintances that are made here (both with the trainers and participants), are useful later, during the further stages of a career.

MT: First of all, he should like people. The desired feature is communicativeness and openness. It's good if he has a bit of empathy, is careful and listens and asks rather than imposing his views and solutions. I also think that it is important to be able to create a space for exchanging views, learning and development.

MAG: Being a Scrum Master is above all, being open with people, so interpersonal skills are not to be underestimated. It is useful to establish contact and maintain relationships and develop; the ability to listen and ask questions, assertiveness, reading non-verbal signals, negotiatiation skills or motivating teams and individuals to act. Patience, willingness to experiment, large amounts of empathy and a sincere smile are also extremely useful.

MT: It is definitely not a job for people who do not like teamwork and prefer to work independently.

MAG: In short - this is not a role for people who do not like people. 

MT: My Top 5 is: Individualization, Responsibility, Empathy, Connectedness, Learner

The result of the test did not surprise me, I felt instinctively that I am so, and now I have it in writing! As many as three talents from the domain of building relationships. Individualization allows me to see in each person a unique unit. I can see her working style, her strengths, her behaviour, her way of thinking. Thanks to this I can strengthen what she is good at. I see how different people can work effectively with each other. Interdependence makes me see the team as a whole, I see how individuals interact and influence each other. This talent is probably also the reason for my tolerance and understanding of other people's actions and the ease of understanding of group processes. Thanks to empathy I can easily sense the mood, it allows me to react quickly and also name what is happening. This talent has great power. Learning is a very desirable feature of Scrum Master because it is a role that requires constant development.

MAG: My five are: Positivity, Woo, Strategic, Developer and Adaptability.

As you know, there are no better or worse talents in the Strengths Finder test results. But I must admit that my top five in the context of my work is perfect. Developing Others is an obvious feature in the context of Scrum Master. Woo (Winning Others Over) allow you to build relationships with team members and have the ability to see the strengths and weaknesses. Strategist and Flexibility – It always helps to look for the best solutions of the situation.

MT: I think so. An experienced Scrum Master naturally becomes an Agile Coach.

MAG: I'm close to "Ideas over titles". Scrum, derived from agile methodologies, supports the pursuit of flat hierarchies. There is no distinction between junior or senior Scrum Master, there are no subsequent levels and promotions. Yes, there are stages of development. Conscious Scrum Master thinking "what to do to advance" is replaced by thinking about how else he can use his potential and how to help the Organization achieve its mission and vision. And the next stages of development are basically dependent on these needs.

Sometimes these will be issues related to organizational culture - especially coaching of the organization in understanding what agility is and how it affects our work. Sometimes it will be an evolution towards Agile Coach, a role that goes far beyond Scrum itself. It requires the knowledge of other agile methodologies and the freedom to adapt them as needed.

I focused primarily on scrum evangelization. Besides, while working in FreshMail and working closely with our HR Manager, Karol Gnat, we started to observe how much Agile and HR areas have in common. We identified that in both cases it is about the development of communication between individuals and teams, development of self-organization and commitment. Thanks to this cooperation we have established the Agile Nuts project, in which we promote such ideas as "Collaborate & Listen" as an incentive to cooperate and listen to each other's needs and "HR = Happy Relations". Because instead of working with resources (Human Resources, Human Resources), we want to create relationships based on understanding and positive attitude.

MT: The greatest joy for me is to watch my teams grow, develop and become a team from a group of random people. I appreciate the progress of all individual members. Maybe it's because my sixth talent, according to Gallup, is developing others.

SM's work is immeasurable. Sometimes I miss tangible results of my work. I work all day long and at the end of the day I often wonder what I was doing. It is worth acknowledging all the activities. Another shadow is that the role of Scrum Master is still not understood in organizations, but it is our role to explain patiently.

MAG: It is definitely a role for people who "sit in the back seat". I often enjoy satisfaction for the successes achieved by the team deep down in my heart. Because the work I have done is invisible on the outside. The greatest satisfaction is the fact that we do not stand still. That instead of repeating already known patterns, we are still facing new challenges. It is also a lot of joy to observe how the team implements the practices I have initiated or passed on the ideas with which I inspired them. Or, when it achieves success, by using the tools and techniques you propose. But let's not hide - working with people is sometimes tiring. And it is worth finding your own valve, with the help of which we disengage from our emotions after leaving work.

This is an extract of an original interview conducted by Klaudia Jarych and featured on Dookala Pracy website.  The interview was originally published in Polish.