You Can’t Be a True Scrum Master With Only a Certificate Or Training
To become a Scrum Master, this is what you need to master
Several years ago, I was looking for a new job. I had worked as a Project Manager on IT infrastructure projects for a while. It was not my cup of tea and I wanted to return to software development.
To strengthen my position in the job market, I looked at what was in high demand. I swiftly stumbled upon Scrum. Everyone used it. I realized I would not find a job in the software industry without knowing about Scrum. I decided to read a bit about it and came to the naive conclusion that the Scrum Master role was similar to a Project Manager.
I then found that there were easy ways to get a Scrum Master certification. One, CSM from Scrum Alliance, required a two-day course. Another one, PSM from Scrum.org, only required me to pass an assessment. The PSM was way cheaper than the CSM and I could do it immediately. Plus I didn’t need to be in a classroom for two days. I would aim to obtain the PSM.
It was harder than I thought and it took me two attempts. But after two days of studying the Scrum Guide and spending $300, I was a Professional Scrum Master.
I still knew nothing about Scrum. I didn’t realize a Scrum Master isn’t the same as a Project Manager. I managed to pass the assessment by memorizing the Scrum Guide. Luckily I didn’t get a Scrum Master role back then. I would have filled the role to the best of my abilities, but I’d most certainly end up being a Project Manager in disguise.
It makes you wonder how many teams work with clueless certified Scrum Masters.
Now I know you can’t be an effective Scrum Master with only a certificate. But two-day training sessions will also not suffice. In this article, I will discuss what you need to learn to be a great Scrum Master. I will also touch upon how this differs from most real-life interpretations of the role.
Scrum Masters need to master Scrum
According to the Scrum Guide, a Scrum Master is accountable for two things:
“The Scrum Master is accountable for establishing Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide. They do this by helping everyone understand Scrum theory and practice, both within the Scrum Team and the organization.” — Scrum Guide 2020
And:
“The Scrum Master is accountable for the Scrum Team’s effectiveness. They do this by enabling the Scrum Team to improve its practices, within the Scrum framework.” — Scrum Guide 2020
To be able to help people understand Scrum, you need to have a solid understanding of Scrum yourself. The same can be said about the accountability for the team’s effectiveness working with Scrum.
A solid understanding starts with studying the Scrum Guide and/or following training. But it doesn’t end there. Mastering Scrum is a continuous journey.
Scrum Masters are leaders
“Scrum Masters are true leaders who serve the Scrum Team and the larger organization.” — Scrum Guide 2020
A Scrum Master needs to have — or build — the skills and traits of a leader. This isn’t limited to leading the Scrum Team. It is also about displaying leadership skills towards the organization as a whole. This puts an additional layer on the Scrum Master role.
It means the Scrum Master must be able to influence stakeholders in the organisation. These stakeholders can be peers, but often they will be leaders up to C-level. A Scrum certification doesn’t prepare you for the soft skills and influencing capabilities you need to have in order to be successful.
Scrum Masters need to have Agile Coaching competencies
Scrum Masters and teams serve teams in all kinds of ways. The Scrum Guide gives us twelve examples. They all talk about ways to coach, help, facilitate, train, and advise.
They do this for diverse topics, like:
Lean, Agile, Self-management, cross-functionality, and empiricism
Creation of value and Product Management as a whole
Quality Management
Leadership, Collaboration, Organisational change
Now, compare this with an Agile Coaching competency framework:
These competencies fit the Scrum Master accountability like a glove! Let’s dive into these competencies a bit more.
Agile-Lean practicioner
Scrum Masters have to understand the concepts of Agile and Lean. They need to be able to point out how Scrum helps to maximise value by taking small steps and verifying the results regularly. They also need to understand the importance of reducing waste and focusing on what matters.
Mentoring, Teaching, Professional Coaching and Facilitation
Scrum Masters need to be able to raise understanding of the framework and help with ways to effectively make use of it. In this regard, the Scrum Guide talks about coaching, helping, facilitating, training and advising. This directly relates to these four competencies of Agile Coaches.
Transformation Mastery
The Scrum Guide is very clear about the role of a Scrum Master in transformations. Scrum Masters should lead and coach organisations in their Scrum adoption. This is a transformation. They should also remove barriers between stakeholders and Scrum Teams. Removal of such barriers can lead to organisational changes too.
Business Mastery and Technical Mastery
The Scrum Guide does not mention Scrum Masters need to have technical or business mastery. But at the same time, they coach Developers, Product Owners and the organisation. It is much easier to advise and train them with a solid understanding of the issues at hand. They can’t do this with Agile knowledge alone. They also need to have an understanding of the technical and business context.
To be able to fill the role of the Scrum Master as laid out by the Scrum Guide, a Scrum Master needs to be able to be proficient in many Agile Coaching competencies. For most of the Scrum Masters, it will be a journey to achieve this.
Scrum Master is a challenging role
The Scrum Master is a challenging role. Or as the new Scrum Guide calls it, accountability. A Scrum Master should:
have a firm knowledge of Scrum;
be a leader;
be an Agile coach.
Scrum Masters are expected to lead the way, be subject matter expert and coach at the same time. This is a senior position if I ever saw one. This is why a credential and a two-day training aren’t enough. There’s so much more a Scrum Master needs to learn to be successful.
Misunderstood and underappreciated by the market
Often the Scrum Master acts as a team clerk or team admin only. Others see it as a project manager role. Just like I used to do. This is a gross misunderstanding and underappreciation of the role. I discussed the catastrophic consequences of this here.
A Scrum Master often isn’t considered to be a leader by colleagues within the organisation. This problem certainly applies to the market as a whole. This is a symptom of a bigger problem with the adoption and understanding of Scrum.
It explains why developers are so easily promoted to Scrum Masters. How many of these developers have the skills needed to be an effective Scrum Master?
Organisations tend to leave their existing organisation structure unchanged when they adopt Scrum. This includes middle management who continues to have the same responsibilities as before. Note that originally Scrum Masters were supposed to be managers:
“The Scrum Master is a new management role introduced by Scrum” — Agile Software Development with Scrum, Schwaber and Beedle, 2002
Meanwhile, the Scrum Master shifted towards a leader. Like many organisations started to see their managers as leaders. Many organisations haven’t changed the middle management layer to accommodate for Scrum Masters. But to be successful with Scrum, this is the way forward.
I’m not saying your current management team should be replaced with Scrum Masters. But the introduction of the Scrum Master DOES have an impact on your current management/leadership team. You need to find a way to introduce Scrum Masters properly.
It doesn’t help that “Scrum Master” is such a terrible name. Many organisations don’t take it as seriously as “Agile Coach” or “Delivery Lead”. The market hasn’t realized that Scrum Master is a role, not a job title. Just like what happened with the Product Owner.
Only when the Scrum Master is recognized for what it represents, will the organisation have a decent shot at succeeding with Scrum. Otherwise uninformed Scrum Masters may cause havoc. Like I would have if had filled a Scrum Master role after receiving my credential.
Also, informed but unsupported Scrum Masters and their team will lose their hope in true change. Which is perhaps even worse.
The current underappreciation of the Scrum Master is a symptom of the misunderstanding of Scrum as a whole. And this is tragic.