97 Things Every Scrum Practitioner Should Know

Chapter 56. How I Learned That It’s Not About Me, the Scrum Master

Ryan Ripley

There is a hard truth you must face when taking on the role of Scrum Master: it’s not about you.

This realization caused me many sleepless nights as I spent over a year making the transition from project manager to Scrum Master. As a project manager, I used to be the center of attention. I had the plan that was going to get the team across the finish line. I gave the presentations to the steering committee. I was the person demonstrating the working software and fielding questions, occasionally asking a developer to help when I did not have specific, technical details. Anyone having a budget issue? I handled that as well.

As a Scrum Master, my experience taught me I had to change, which I gradually did (much to my own satisfaction and improvement of my stress levels).

The Product Owner is fully empowered to set the strategic, tactical, and financial course of the product. The Development Team is accountable for delivery and for quality. No one, not even a Scrum Master, can tell the Development Team how best to do their work. As they noticed how I started enacting the preceding, stakeholders stopped calling me and went straight to the Product Owner or Development Team with their questions—certainly during the collaborative Sprint Review event.

Looking back, I realize how I needed to become ...