So, what’s good this week, awesome people? This time, I am writing a blog rather than making a video on my YouTube channel since my family just moved to Brisbane, and I am still waiting for all my gear to be sent across the continent.
The recent update to the Scrum Guide has enhanced the accountability of the Scrum Master. In fact, the very first few lines of the Scrum definition section in the Scrum Guide immediately start with an explanation of what the Scrum Master does within the organisation. This is quite interesting because, in many organisations, the Scrum Master has been considered a second-class citizen. Many organisations still see the Scrum Master role as low value. The Scrum Guide also states that the Scrum Master is a true leader. But have you ever asked yourself what it means to be a true leader? If there is a true leader, does that mean there are fake leaders out there? Or maybe inauthentic leaders? Or perhaps even bogus leaders?
The Scrum Guide also states that the Scrum Master is a true leader who is accountable for value delivery effectiveness. Anyone who is willing and able to take on this accountability is called the Scrum Master, regardless of their title or position in the company. For example, someone in the organisation may have the title of Enterprise Agile Coach, but if they are accountable for value delivery effectiveness, then, in the context of Scrum, we can consider that person a Scrum Master.
Let’s return to our initial question about true leadership. There are many leadership models out there, including autocratic leadership, Machiavellian leadership, democratic leadership, laissez-faire leadership, agile leadership, and even servant leadership. In fact, the previous version of the Scrum Guide stated that the Scrum Master is a servant leader. So why has this changed to “true leader” who serves?
Servant leadership is just one of the leadership models that the Scrum Master employs. Servant leadership is a leadership concept that was first popularised by Robert Greenleaf through his book. Though the idea as written in his book is noble, in today’s era, when an organisation, a team member, or even the Scrum Master themselves reads that the Scrum Master is a “servant leader,” they may interpret this as becoming the team’s personal assistant. This misperception results in organisations viewing the Scrum Master role as fungible and low value. That is why some organisations even rotate the Scrum Master role, as they view anyone as capable of being the team’s personal assistant.
As I have mentioned earlier, there are many models of leadership. True leadership is leadership without an additional descriptor—the essence of leadership. True leadership is about leading people without authority from the front, the side, and the back in a balanced manner. When the Scrum Master leads from all these perspectives, it ultimately contributes to improving the Scrum Team’s effectiveness. As I write this, I am speaking to myself, as there are many leadership aspects I need to improve as a Scrum Master. Consider this blog a personal note to myself.
Leading from the Front
Most Scrum Teams I have worked with over the past few years have already heard of Scrum. They may have read resources online or watched videos about Scrum on YouTube. In my experience, most of the time, the version of Scrum they are exposed to is "dark Scrum." Dark Scrum is easier to digest as it aligns more closely with their existing biases and current reality.
Many people on the internet also claim that agile is about mindset and that having an agile mindset is more important than Scrum. However, when you think about it, the “agile mindset” is very abstract. How do we truly know if someone has developed an agile mindset? We can’t perform brain surgery to verify this. Mindset can manifest in different behaviours depending on culture and context. For example, in one culture, “commitment” may mean fixed scope and fixed time; in another, it may mean working long hours, while in yet another, it may mean delivering excellence even within short working hours.
Given this complexity, I have learned that simply stating "agile is a mindset" is not effective in improving an organisation's agility. Instead, I have found that being an example and demonstrating behaviours necessary for agility is far more impactful. When people within an organisation observe and emulate the Scrum Master’s behaviour consistently, it becomes a habit and eventually a mindset.
Rather than offering empty rhetoric, the Scrum Master should serve as a model of agility. When people in the organisation want to understand agility, they should be able to look at the Scrum Master’s behaviour. For example, rather than merely promoting the concept of a self-managing team, the Scrum Master should actively engage with people in the larger organisation, including managers, to improve the organisation’s effectiveness in value delivery.
Leading from the front, as stated in the Scrum Guide, also requires the Scrum Master to establish empirical product planning for a complex environment and to visualise what agility looks like to everyone in the organisation. Without a clear picture of agility, people may not be motivated to change their behaviours and may revert to their old ways of working. To achieve this, the Scrum Master needs a vision to communicate to the organisation what agility looks like and a systems-thinking approach.
Leading from the Side
Leading from the side means spreading positivity and partnering with those who choose to be led by the Scrum Master. Many Scrum Masters and agile coaches believe their job is solely to coach others, often by asking questions without ever offering solutions. While professional coaching is valuable in certain situations and for specific individuals, relying solely on coaching without context may harm the organization. Relevance is key to improving the Scrum Team's effectiveness.
As a Scrum Master, sometimes we need to get our hands dirty and demonstrate techniques that will improve the organization’s agility and the Scrum Team's effectiveness in delivering value. For example, if a team has struggled due to manual regression testing for twenty Sprints, instead of just telling them to adopt Test-Driven Development (TDD), it would be more effective for the Scrum Master to demonstrate TDD through pair programming or mob programming with them. Otherwise, the Scrum Master is like a parent instructing their child to tie a shoelace without demonstrating how to do it.
Leading from Behind
Leading from behind is what servant leadership, as coined by Robert Greenleaf, is all about. Leading from behind involves removing themselves from the scene and does not take credit. When leading from behind, the Scrum Master artfully facilitates the removal of impediments and dismantles barriers such as politics and bureaucracies. This does not necessarily mean the Scrum Master removes the impediments themselves. Instead, they foster an environment where impediments are eliminated organically through coaching and facilitation techniques.
In some contexts, the Scrum Master leads from behind by observing and actively doing nothing. This does not mean being inactive but rather allowing the system to self-organise and observing with curiosity before intervening. Interfering too soon may be counterproductive to both the Scrum Team and the organisation.
Leading from behind may also involve advocating for budget approval to bring in external consultants or trainers when the Scrum Master lacks the expertise needed. Leading from behind does not imply lower status; rather, it requires humility and the absence of personal agendas. The Scrum Master’s sole agenda should be to help people become the best versions of themselves, ultimately contributing to improved organisational agility and Scrum Team effectiveness. It takes humility to lead from behind.
Change from Within
To be a true leader, the Scrum Master needs to be humble and authentic. True leadership is genuine and cannot be faked. Becoming a true leader requires an internal transformation, a shift in character. As someone wise once said, "Character is who we are when no one is watching." Transforming one’s character requires continuous mentoring and coaching rather than attending a one-time training session. The Scrum Master must transform themselves before they can transform the organisation and the Scrum Team they serve. A true leader is rare and is valuable for the organisation and the team.
Closing
True leadership is about balance and knowing when to lead from the front, side, or back. I believe that true leadership should not only be an attribute of the Scrum Master but also of an exceptional Product Owner. A great Product Owner should also lead from the front, side, and back. While the Scrum Master focuses on systemic changes that enable people to thrive, the Product Owner focuses on optimizing value for customers and the business through the product they own. Both roles require true leadership but with different focuses and skill sets.
Thanks for reading, folks. Hopefully, I will be able to create a video on true leadership once I am settled in Brisbane. I hope this blog inspires you to help your team and organization become the best versions of themselves. I still have a lot to learn about being a true leader for my Scrum Team. Have a great weekend, everyone!