Grit of Scrum Masters Leading Difficult Teams

Navigating the agile landscape as a Scrum Master can be a rewarding yet formidable journey, particularly when confronted with the complexities of managing difficult teams.

During my discussions with fellow scrum masters, I have often heard the following.

?? Previous scrum master was a team member who knew inside-out

?? Team does not want to use the Scrum Framework

?? Team does not want to work with a Scrum Master

?? You are the fourth/fifth Scrum Master.

?? You are the replacement for a scrum master who has been asked to leave the team/company.

Let's discuss how best to overcome these instances.

First thing first, avoid making assumptions. Did team convey to you/did you overhear that they don't like to work with you? Even if they did, make it an opportunity. Organise a one-on-one, try to understand the root cause, understand their aspects, and make notes and be constructive in your responses. Never rush to conclusions, such as

? Your team members are the worse

? They all need to be replaced,

? Escalations

? Never inject the fear of fail to your though process

Rather, “You be the change!”

It could be a scenario in which the presales team in the contract itself/senior management has already chosen the framework, which was imposed on the teams to follow(which is common??), sit with the team, and collaboratively discover the correct methodology and framework for your team.

Maybe the practices are not correctly implemented; identify the gaps/areas of improvement and work on a corrective plan. Make the team trust the framework, sell your services and use your influencing skills to convince them. Request them to try for 1 or 2 sprints.

Emphasis on what is there for them, how this is going to simplify their work, avoid/mitigate the risks and achieve work-life balance

Discuss the reasoning for having the different rituals.

?? Can we achieve the goals without planning?

?? Isn’t the review meeting the best to interact with your stakeholders?

?? Improving yourself during retrospectives.

Even if the team wants to use different terms, let them do so, but makesure the objectives are met. Sell the idea of what's in it for them rather than the framework.

General advice to people with difficult teams is understanding the essence of self-management and self-organisation. You should be able to advocate for the scrum framework but not be the solution architect/decision maker. You should guide them, and teach them how to implement the scrum framework, agile practices and principles. It's not your job to tell them how to code or what is of priority. Let the team decide them. You, as a scrum master, will have a bigger role in crafting the correct culture for the teams to excel and prosper.