12. CLOSING
NOTE
Its difficult to be weird
But
It is necessary to be weird
It requires courage to be weird
But
The sense of “I am weird for my team”
gives you the courage
Its tough and weird to go and talk to a manager assigning the tasks.
They feel, its weird? Why is she asking me not to assign tasks to my subordinate?
Scrum master needs to be weird and still say “Do not assign”
People always think about two things - “Am I respected?” and “Am I safe?”
When you tell “You cannot assign tasks to people reporting to you”, naturally they feel that they are unsafe.
Explain, the role of Manager in scrum and the importance of that role. You are doing this this this, stop these and start doing something else, something else and that would benefit the team.
If you need a certain expected behavior from a particular role, talk 1:1, understand what they have in mind and educate.
This is a soft skill to be mastered.
It will come handy in many different scenarios
Its weird, but it is needed. It requires courage to do this.
Whether it’s a standup or a meet with your VP, A scrum master should act weird such that you can educate importance of time.
Passive role in making the interpersonal relationships stronger
Take out for lunch/Coffee together
Take out for slack time
Neutralize unhealthy arguments
Most of the obstacles are invisible
Try hard to find them
It would be weird and often hesitant to to talk upfront with senior management especially in Indian mindset where we give importance to hierarchy
But, it is needed
When the team is focusing on the present, its SM’s duty to think what is going to happen in future.
Are there any potential obstacles in the next sprint, or next year,
Is there something to be initiated now.
Can something outside the project help my team ?
Its weird, but it is needed. It requires courage to do this.
Whether it’s a standup or a meet with your VP, A scrum master should act weird such that you can educate importance of time.