I want to become a Scrum Master!

Scrum Master, as I like to call them, is an alienoid role in a team, but also wise, powerful & highly trained in the ways of Agile, unlocking the path for successful product delivery, very much like Yoda was in Star Wars. Okay, may be great product deliver doesn't seem as important as 'immortality' that Yoda was expert in, but let's say it IS as important in the world of competitive business.

I have lost count to how many people in my professional channel have approached me with the question

"I want to become a Scrum Master. Should I just do the certifications & then talk to my supervisor to assign me a project? "

And my reaction almost every time is " Uhhh ummm.. well... it's not THAT simple" .

I have coached number of people on this & I have done some research to try understand 'WHY' people want to jump into the role of Scrum Master & then many a times people struggle to succeed in this role while some people instantly ace it & becomes absolutely the flag bearers of agile mindset.

Have you experienced this? Came across Scrum Masters who did not seem to be adding the value you have read or heard about? Or you as a Scrum Master feeling inadequate in your team & constantly trying to prove your worth ?

Okay! Let's break it down. Take a deep breath in & then hold it & keep reading.

Scrum Master role needs a set of skills just like every other role in the world. Nothing crazy about that. But in my experience this role has been in demand but many of us jump into the role without self analyzing whether we have the expert skills of facilitation, communication, problem solving appetite & more importantly an agile mindset. The problem with this role is, just like you can't be a great coder unless you are passionate about it, you can't be a great Scrum Master unless you have the innate capabilities of being a people's person or a passionate agile evangelist.

Hold on, don't think am demotivating here & cutting my competitors in the market. You can also release your breath now, you know!

What I am saying is that, having a self assessment before jumping into such a critical role is ideal to start with if you really want to make a difference, because let me break this greatest of the great secrets to you ( me being Yoda right now), that a Scrum master's role is NOT a project manager's role, not a coordinator's role, not a role who just sets meetings, not someone who just maintains the JIRA board & definitely not someone whom we blame when everything falls apart.

It is a multi facet role & to be honest i don't think Jeff Sutherland ?co-created this role just to have another person to create calendar invites. It is a brilliant concept just as agile is & has proven to make a huge difference when empowered & correctly integrated in the organization.

A great scrum master usually have the skills of having the servant leader mindset, great at proactive facilitation, asks the right questions to be able to coach teams to success, can be an instructor to promote agile culture & framework(much like your yoga instructor), a mentor to help you navigate your mind out into the agile world, a manager , an impediment remover to help focus team & fight off distractions. And finally a Change Agent who takes responsibility to bring in transformation & influence thinking. Phew!! That's a lot right.

And if you survived that last sentence then you know that to be able to play this role well , you need to have the capabilities of being able to influence people, communicate with ease, natural but polished leadership & intensive agile knowledge , that you either possess or need to acquire alongside a Scrum Master Certification & learning an agile tool.

So, if you are planning to become a Scrum master, have a quick check if you understand what you are up against & whether or not you possess the skills to succeed in the role. And if you are hiring a Scrum master for your team , look for not just the certifications & years in industry , but also the skills that will make your Scrum Master stand out.

In the words of Spiderman, "With great scrum masters comes great product delivery experience"!!