How a manager should best help a team member asking for advice ?

The first approach could be seen as putting the SM under inappropriate pressure. Goals for a Scrum Master’s coaching action or servant leadership function are not driven by management.

It would be better to encourage the SMEs to work with the Scrum Master, and also to inform the SM that an issue exists of which he or she might not be aware. Managers should support the SM in any way possible.

Ian, thank you very much for your insight.

I agree that the first one is putting pressure on the SM but it looks like an interesting way for the manager to lead the SME out of their confort zone and help them grow their own position.

I don't like so much my second option, exposing a poor servant-leadership posture of the manager. Just telling "talk to your pairs" is a very light help. Your option of having also a chat with the SM seems more interesting to me.

Actually, as an ICF Coach, the first option seem more interesting to me than the second one.

The manager can propose to the managee to be coached on any subject.

The Scrum Master, as a coach (among its many postures) should have the skills to do it, if the manager AND the managee agree on the subject of the coaching (here : beeing a better mentor for the junior team-member). It is a classic tri-part contract.

A coach is responsible for the process of coaching, but the coachee is reponsible for the result.

So the manager is not putting so much pressure on the Scrum Master.

So much focus on process, so little teamwork and interaction with the teams in question :)

+1 Filip

Are the teams meeting their Sprint Goals and their Sprint forecasts?   If not, is better SME collaboration within the team a possible experiment to try and improve the likelihood of the team delivering?

If the team is achieving their objectives, then perhaps this is not a true problem within the team, but more of the "lead" person feeling a bit slighted since Scrum doesn't identify separate roles within the Development Team?   Just speculating here, of course.

Perhaps there are other dynamics at play here?   As a Scrum Master, my first thought would be to look at the team dynamics, and see what can be done to improve team maturity and cohesiveness.   Patience is also a much-needed trait for a Scrum Master that I constantly need to be reminded of.   Sometimes, teams simply need to go through the Tuckman stages, and the symptoms can manifest themselves in many ways.

I would not advocate trying to force any type of process or interaction though.   It will resonate most strongly if any changes originate within the team, and not outside of it.   Make suggestions and observations if needed, but let the team find their way.

Good luck!

The question here is not how to deal with it as a Scrum Master, but as a manager of some Scrum Teams, trying to be a good agile leader :-)

I would then aim for "just ask whether the SMEs had discused the issue with their other team member and their Scrum Master ? (giving a direct option for action, but without more guidance = "decide on your own what best you want to do" ?)"

Why do you think that would be "exposing a poor servant-leadership posture of the manager. Just telling "talk to your pairs" is a very light help."? Discussing a matter and showing possible routes, even already know, is imho not a weak type of leadership.