Does anyone have any tips on working in scrum teams which are multicultural?
We have a large team with different cultures/backgrounds so have several cultural differences and work styles. Does anyone have any tips on how as a scrum master we can support and help the team to find commonalities and build trust? I have tried running working agreement sessions but still coming across some barriers and of course it takes time.
Thanks all
Hello Katherine,
In my opinion, this is not necesarily a "scrum" issue but I can understand how it can impact a scrum team. I think your best ally is the company's culture and mindset. As a scrum master, you should try to stay neutral to this and always put the common ground forward (the project, its scope, teamwork, etc...) and provide tools to facilitate their work. As a crum master, it's also your responsibility to cause change in behaviors that do not benefit the team or the project.
You can find helpful tips here :
Where are they in regard to having joint Sprint commitments?
Transparency is your friend, but a tough friend. If you can carefully craft a way to put this issue at the feet of the team and have them be open and helpful - that's your best bet. Hold them responsible for solving the problem but, as a "crum" master, your responsibility is making issues visible to them that they can solve and solving issues that are out of their control (generally).
BTW I like the typo crum master. Maybe we should all be crumb masters that give people crumbs of solutions rather than solving issues and use a bread trail of crumbs to point north.