97 Things Every Scrum Practitioner Should Know

Chapter 59. The Scrum Master as Coach

Geoff Watts

Coaching has forever been a part of the Scrum Master role. This is because servant-leadership of a self-organizing team has always been a part of Scrum. However, back in 2001, when Scrum first began getting traction, few understood what “coaching” meant.

Despite great advancements, there is still confusion about and many inconsistencies in the coaching aspect of the Scrum Master role.

According to the International Coach Federation (ICF)—a leading professional coaching body not associated with Scrum or any Scrum organization specifically—coaching is:

Partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.

The ICF goes on to say, “The coaching process does not include advising or counseling, and focuses instead on individuals or groups setting and reaching their own objectives.”

I find this definition important because to become an effective Scrum Master, I followed a professional coaching pathway, and many great Scrum Masters I have coached have done similarly.

It is my firm belief that any coach should actively work toward the independence of their client—a great coach does not create a need for their services. Similarly, in my book, Scrum Mastery (Inspect & Adapt Ltd, 2013), I expressed two fundamental pieces of advice for Scrum Masters: ...