Six Skills to Become a Notable Scrum Master

According to nutache, a scrum master is the facilitator for the team and product owner. As such, one of the most important roles of a scrum master is to make sure that everyone is on the same page and to make sure that the team achieves the goals.

One of the markers of a successful Scrum Master as written in Agileforgrowth is motivating the team members and increasing their potential. Apart from that, Scrum Master needs to be equipped with soft skills and hard skills that should be mastered by a scrum master. Some of the hard skills that scrum master should acquire are:

1. Strong scrum and agile training

The main purpose of having a Scrum Master is to ensure that the team is following the guidelines of Scrum and Agile. This is because Scrum comes with its own set of terms and phrases that leaders need to understand in order to use the framework properly.

According to ScrumAlliance, as a certified Scrum Master, the training to help your Scrum Team perform at the highest level is important. Online programmes also offer Scrum Certification programmes which focus on the best practices to enhance collaboration and success among teams. Other scrum certifications include Professional Scrum Master (PSM) I, Professional Scrum Master (PSM) II and others.

Having gained these certifications and knowledge, Scrum Masters need to be able to teach and coach their team members on the right techniques used especially for teams that are new to the Scrum process.

2. Knowledgeable and able to guide team members

Having technical knowledge is vital for a Scrum Master to be able to function effectively to guide the team to deliver its maximum results. As such, becoming a Certified Scrum Developer to strengthen the Agile development skills is important as it can help Scrum Masters make them a valuable asset in any organisation.

Through certifications, Scrum Master is better able to guide their team.

Equipped with certifications and technical familiarity also allows Scrum Master to deliver expertise for effective team building, training and management. As a result of this, they are better able to manage obstacles in project’s progress and be at par with industry standards.

Other certifications that are out in the market and readily available to master the art of being a Scrum Master include 

3. Collaborative efforts with team members

One of skills that the Scrum Master should possess is collaboration between team members. Effective collaboration between the Scrum Master and product owner ultimately result in successful products that meet the organization’s requirements.

One of the traits that the Scrum Master needs to master is collaboration as it allows the team to work together and move on to the next item - and at the same time, come up with effective solutions to complex problems, as written by Scrum.org. 

Effective collaboration and communication skills are important skills in any team – a task that a Scrum Master should always oversee

And one of the skills that scrum masters do are also communicating across various segments of the organisation in different communities of practises (CoP). As such, the Scrum Master works together with team members to remove any impediments that are obstructing the team from achieving their goals.

4. Be adaptable if needed

For any scrum master, being adaptable to changes is essential. Agileforgrowth writes that if the Scrum Master can adapt swiftly to changing organisational systems and team’s needs, she will be able to inspire the same behaviour within the team.

Another reason as to why a Scrum Master needs to be adaptable is because in the business industry, markets, customers and requirements change every time. Hence, a Scrum Master needs to readily offer their customers the best products that solve their problem.

5. Resolve conflicts

Every team is made up of different individuals with their own styles and sometimes, these work styles may clash and need to be resolved to allow the team to continue their work. However, when times are bad - meaning conflicts cannot be resolved, then the Scrum Master needs to intervene. This is important or else work would not get done when members of the team are in conflict with one another.

As such, the Scrum Master’s responsibility here is important - as a negotiator and facilitator in order to help resolve the conflict between the respective parties. Nutcache reports that some of the questions under the conflict resolution techniques that can help Scrum Master are:

• Is the disagreement over a specific outcome or approach?
• Is there a power struggle or a mismatch between goals at the root of the conflict?
• Do they use a language of fundamental values or moral beliefs that points to a non-negotiable issue?
• Do the parties express a personal judgment against the other parties as part of the conflict?

6. Leading group through proper time management skills

A Scrum Master is also responsible for leading change and being a motivator in the group. As such, they are also responsible for making sure that the team achieves the desired outcomes. For instance, if there are any impediments in the team, the Scrum Master needs to try to remove them so that the team achieves their goal.

Making sure participants follow the timing of each meeting is an essential skill for a Scrum Master.

Apart from that, make sure the team members are inspired to continuously improve their processes and practices through proper guidance and direction. This is done through making sure the teams start their sessions and end right on time and making sure that all events are timed appropriately.

On that note, PremierAgile writes that Scrum Master must pre-plan venue and timings, and make sure that timing coincides with the schedule of each participant. Hence, it is vital for the Scrum Master to take into account everyone’s timing and schedule so that all can gather at a place for their discussions.