How To Help Agile Teams Own Their Work, And Be Independent | Aliona Zapanovici

Summary

Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile Storytelling from the Trenches

Episode Summary: "How To Help Agile Teams Own Their Work, And Be Independent" | Aliona Zapanovici

Release Date: November 28, 2024
Host: Vasco Duarte, Agile Coach, Certified Scrum Master, Certified Product Owner
Guest: Aliona Zapanovici, Scrum Master and Agile Coach

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast, host Vasco Duarte welcomes Scrum Master and Agile Coach Aliona Zapanovici to discuss strategies for empowering Agile teams to take ownership of their work and achieve greater independence. The conversation delves into effective retrospective formats, building team trust, defining success as a Scrum Master, and fostering team engagement and proactivity.

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Effective Retrospective Formats

One of the core topics discussed is the significance of retrospectives in Agile practices. Aliona emphasizes the importance of selecting retrospective formats that align with the team's current needs.

• Simplicity Over Complexity: Aliona advocates for simple retrospective formats to ensure the team remains focused. She states, “I like to keep things simple when it comes to retrospective, although I really, really like and appreciate creative formats as well. For me, simplicity often works best because it allows the team to focus on what truly matters without getting lost in complicated activities” (03:14).

• Adaptive Formats: Depending on the sprint's challenges, the retrospective format may shift focus. After a sprint fraught with blockers, the team might prioritize discussing impediments. Conversely, after a successful sprint, the focus might shift to recognizing individual efforts and celebrating successes.

• Anonymous Boards: Aliona frequently utilizes anonymous boards to encourage open and honest feedback without fear of judgment. However, she cautions that anonymity can sometimes mask deeper trust issues within the team. She notes, “If there isn't trust in the team, anonymity will not somehow create that trust. So we have to be careful because it might even amplify the lack of trust” (04:39).

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Building Trust Within Agile Teams

Trust is highlighted as a foundational element for effective retrospectives and overall team performance.

• Natural Conversation Flow: Aliona observes that teams with established trust communicate more openly and engage in meaningful discussions. “The more trust the team has, the more open they are to having meaningful discussions” (03:14).

• Avoiding Blame: Without trust, retrospective formats like anonymous boards can lead to blame-shifting and negative patterns, undermining team cohesion and problem-solving efforts.

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Defining Success as a Scrum Master

Aliona shares her personal definition of success in her role as a Scrum Master, providing valuable insights into effective leadership and team development.

• Empowering Independence: “Success as a Scrum Master is when I make myself not needed. I know that sounds strange because we all want to feel needed, but if I'm always solving problems, then the team doesn't have to solve them and doesn't learn to solve them on their own” (05:29).

• Fostering Ownership: She underscores the importance of teams taking ownership of their work. A successful Scrum Master guides the team to a point where they can manage challenges independently, indicating a mature and self-sufficient team.

• Cultivating Passion: Aliona also values when team members move beyond merely fulfilling roles to genuinely caring about the product, describing it as, “I love it when they start caring about the product like it's their own child” (05:29).

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Fostering Team Ownership and Engagement

The conversation transitions to identifying indicators that a team is growing in ownership and engagement.

• Beyond Working Hours: Aliona provides an example where a team measured success by working hours, highlighting the shift needed from quantity to quality. “When it's like a mindset just to spend the time at work and not you don't think, you don't focus on the value you can build” (07:10).

• Active Participation: Engagement is reflected in how team members interact during meetings and contribute to discussions. Proactive behaviors such as discussing user stories from the user perspective and providing constructive feedback are key indicators. “Engagement with the product, like discussing the user stories from the user perspective, giving feedback to the product owner” (08:03).

• Proactivity and Initiative: Productivity flourishes when team members understand and value the impact of their work. Aliona mentions, “Productivity comes when team members… start to love the results. They start to think of what more initiative, what more good they can bring to the table” (08:23).

• Team Support and Collaboration: Creating an environment where team members feel safe to share ideas without fear of judgment is crucial. “When the team supports it, the speeding… goes to a different level” (09:35).

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Conclusion

Aliona Zapanovici provides a nuanced perspective on fostering team independence and ownership within Agile frameworks. By emphasizing simplicity in retrospectives, building trust, defining success through team empowerment, and encouraging proactive engagement, she outlines a comprehensive approach for Scrum Masters aiming to cultivate high-performing, self-sufficient Agile teams.

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Notable Quotes:

• Aliona Zapanovici [03:14]: “I like to keep things simple when it comes to retrospective... it allows the team to focus on what truly matters without getting lost in complicated activities.”

• Aliona Zapanovici [04:39]: “If there isn't trust in the team, anonymity will not somehow create that trust. So we have to be careful because it might even amplify the lack of trust.”

• Aliona Zapanovici [05:29]: “Success as a Scrum Master is when I make myself not needed... it’s a sign of success.”

• Aliona Zapanovici [07:10]: “When it's like a mindset just to spend the time at work... you don't focus on the value you can build.”

• Aliona Zapanovici [08:23]: “Productivity comes when team members... start to think of what more initiative, what more good they can bring to the table.”

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This episode offers valuable insights for Scrum Masters seeking to enhance team autonomy and effectiveness. By implementing the strategies discussed, Agile practitioners can foster environments where teams thrive through ownership, trust, and continuous improvement.

Transcript

[Vasco Duart]

Hi, I'm your host, Vasco Duart. Welcome to the Scrum Master Toolbox podcast where we share tips and tricks from Scrum Masters around the world. Every day, we bring you inspiring answers to important questions that all Scrum Masters.

[Alena Zapanovic]

Face day after day. Hello, everybody. Welcome to our success. Thursday, the big question of the week, this week with Alena Zapanovic. Hey, Alena, welcome back.

Hey, Vasco. Nice to be here.

So retrospectives are one of those patterns that we know are very impactful. And I know that you are, from background, an architect, and I'm sure you know about the architectural patterns that we kind of borrowed in the software world to then start developing our own patterns. Right. And when I think about that in the retrospective, this is especially important because we want to find retrospective formats that we feel are effective at what we want to do. And, you know, there could be many different things we want to do with the retrospective. So I'm curious to hear, what is the pattern, the retrospective format that you have been able to use to the most effect? What's your favorite retrospective format, Alena?

Well, I like to keep things simple when it comes to retrospective, although I really, really like and appreciate creative formats as well. For me, simplicity often works best because it allows the team to focus on what truly matters without getting lost in complicated activities. And my retrospective format really depends on what the team needs to focus on after a particular sprint. For example, if we had a challenging sprint with many blockers, the retro will lean towards discussing those impediments and finding ways to prevent them in the future. Other times, it's more about recognizing individual efforts and giving kudos to our teammates who went above and beyond. One tool I often use is the anonymous board. It gives people the freedom to express their thoughts without fear of judgment. But here, it sometimes can be tricky when team members don't want to acknowledge their own opinions publicly. And this can be a sign of lack of trust. And this is a much deeper issue to address when trust is present. I found that the team already has a good sense of what needs to be discussed, and the conversation flows more naturally. The more trust the team has, the more open they are to having meaningful discussions. And even a simple retrospective format can be a powerful tool for, for growth.

So when you think about these simpler formats, like what, what is one that you often go back to?

We use the digital board, the anonymous board. But yes, I may write there and it will be anonymous, but it's my opinion and I will acknowledge that I wrote this and I think like, I think so.

And when you think about, like, what would help people kind of bring up the right topics? Like, so the anonymous board is one way for them not to necessarily have to feel judged by their opinion. But, like, do you use like, the, you know, keep, drop, improve, or do you use the 4L's format? Or, like, what kind of the simpler formats do you usually use when you're trying to help the team? Just to get started with that conversation.

I use the what went well, what didn't go so well, what can we improve? And the last one is for actions. And we just decide if we agree to one action we selected absolutely.

One of the things that I think is very important from what you shared about the Anonymous board is that we have to be careful. If there isn't trust in the team, anonymity will not somehow create that trust. So we have to be careful because it might even amplify the lack of trust because it might delve into blaming and blame shifting and all kinds of negative patterns. So we do have to be careful about that, as you said. But of course, we do this, like, we host these retrospectives because we want to help teams succeed. And when it comes to helping teams succeed, it's very important to reflect on what are our own standards for success as Scrum Masters. So, Alyona, share with us, what does success mean for you as a Scrum Master?

For me, success as a Scrum Master is when I make myself not needed. I know that sounds strange because we all want to feel needed, but if I'm always solving problems, then the team doesn't have to solve them and doesn't learn to solve them on their own. So when I see my team reach a point where they can manage without me, I feel proud. But to be honest, it's also a bit scary when you see the team growing and you think, oh, they don't need me anymore. It's a strange feeling. But that's, for me, that's a sign of success. Another sign is when the team stops being happy with the just okay results. I love it when they start caring about the product like it's their own child. They stop being just nine to five people. Instead, they become more creative and take ownership of what they build.

When you think about, like, just stopping to be happy with just okay results, like, of course we know when a team is really excited and motivated and so on. But how do you look at that? Like, when it's really at the beginning, when it's not obvious yet, like, what are the things you're Looking for as a Scrum Master that tell you that the team really is growing into really caring about their product.

One example would be one of my team measured the working hours and for them it was, well, I worked my hours and that's fine, I can go. Of course we have this working hours. But it's not okay. When it's like a mindset just to spend the time at work and not you don't think, you don't focus on the value you can build, but you focus only on time you spend being present at work. It also works with meetings. Some people might think that it's enough just to be present there, like, check, I was present.

So you're looking for like engagement with the meetings or in this case, you were talking about the product. So engagement with the product, like discussing the user stories from the user perspective, giving feedback to the product owner, like, hey, I think this would be a better flow, like things like that.

Yes, more proactivity. But productivity comes when team members, when developers, when they see, when they realize the value, the real value their work brought, when they start to understand it, they start to love the results. They start to think of what more initiative, what more good they can bring to the table.

Yeah, absolutely. And they are not afraid of bringing it up. Right. Like that's an important step for the team to kind of own that aspect of themselves that I want the product to be great and I'm not afraid to bring that up.

Yes. And especially if it's on the team level, because me as individual, I can be okay with this. But some of the other team members, they may be shy, for example, and they may be afraid that their idea is not as good. And when the team supports it, when the team supports the collaboration, the speeding.

Up.

It goes to a different level.

Absolutely. And we do want to see that motivation and courage to come up and participate actively in the value that they are creating. Very well said. Thank you for sharing that, Alyona.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

[Vasco Duart]

Part of a successful Scrum Master job is to help the product owner. Tomorrow we explore that critical role in Scrum, the product owner role. Tune in to learn about product owner anti patterns, what you can do to help the product owner and a real life example of what a great product owner is and what made it so. Tomorrow on our Friday product owner episode. See you tomorrow. We really hope you liked our show and if you did, why not rate this podcast on Stitcher or itunes, share this podcast and let other Scrum masters know about this valuable resource for their work. Remember that sharing is caring.