Signs of Scrum Master Success | Gosia Smoleńska

Summary

Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile Storytelling from the Trenches

Episode Summary: "Signs of Scrum Master Success | Gosia Smoleńska"

Host: Vasco Duarte
Guest: Gosia Smoleńska
Release Date: November 21, 2024

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast, host Vasco Duarte welcomes Gosia Smoleńska, an experienced Scrum Master and Agile Coach, to discuss the indicators of success for Scrum Masters. The conversation delves into effective retrospective formats, defining personal and team success, fostering team autonomy, and cultivating systemic thinking within Agile teams.

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Favorite Retrospective Formats

Gosia Smoleńska shares her preferred method for team retrospectives, emphasizing simplicity and structure.

"I think it's lean coffee... it's easy. You have some formula that you have to follow... it's easy to understand for people how to actually do it." (01:31)

Gosia highlights Lean Coffee as her favorite retrospective format due to its balance between structured guidance and open discussion. She appreciates how it reduces pressure by adhering to a formula while encouraging light, meaningful conversations. The interactive elements, such as thumbs up and thumbs down, add a fun component that engages team members.

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Unexpected Benefits of Lean Coffee

Exploring beyond the basics, Gosia identifies unforeseen advantages of implementing Lean Coffee with her teams.

"You can finish only the topics you can finish. You don't have to go through everything... It also gives this feeling to the team like this is the highest priority." (02:02)

She points out that Lean Coffee allows meetings to remain within time constraints without sacrificing quality. By prioritizing topics, teams focus on what truly matters, fostering a sense of urgency and efficiency. This approach not only streamlines meetings but also instills a valuable work ethic that can be applied beyond retrospectives.

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Defining Success as a Scrum Master

The conversation shifts to personal benchmarks for success in the Scrum Master role.

"Success is when we are not needed anymore and no one even noticed that we stopped interfering." (03:19)

For Gosia, true success lies in the team's ability to operate independently. This means resolving conflicts, conducting meetings, and managing processes without constant intervention. She recounts a poignant moment when her team expressed their readiness to handle retrospectives autonomously:

"They were like, 'We don't need you here. This is our retrospective.'... It was like sending your children to school for the first time." (04:49)

Gosia views this independence as a testament to her effectiveness as a Scrum Master, signifying that the team has internalized Agile principles and practices.

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Signs a Team is Becoming Self-Sufficient

Gosia outlines key indicators that a team is progressing toward self-sufficiency and effective self-management.

1. Shift from Issues to Ideas

"The first hint for me is when they stop bringing me issues and start bringing ideas." (05:27)

Teams begin to proactively suggest solutions instead of merely presenting problems, demonstrating increased ownership and problem-solving capabilities.

2. Implementation Without Constant Validation

"They have wanted outcome... I don't have to check with them if they did it... they are showing also we did this and this is how it works." (06:06)

When teams implement ideas independently and share their outcomes without seeking approval, it indicates maturity and confidence in their processes.

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Encouraging Teams to Bring Ideas Instead of Issues

Gosia emphasizes the importance of guiding teams to transition from a problem-centric approach to an innovation-driven mindset.

"It's not like you are in the team and you have influence only on the things in your team because sometimes you can help." (07:24)

She encourages teams to not only identify challenges but also take the initiative to devise and test solutions. This proactive stance fosters a culture of continuous improvement and resilience.

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Cultivating Systemic Thinking in Teams

Understanding that team performance is influenced by external factors, Gosia discusses strategies to help teams recognize and navigate these influences.

Exercise: The 7 Wastes from Lean Management

"I use this exercise of 7 waste from Lean Management where you have to actually think what is waste around you." (07:24)

By leveraging the 7 Wastes framework, teams assess inefficiencies not just within their immediate environment but also in the broader organizational context. This holistic approach enables teams to identify and address systemic issues that impact their productivity and quality of work.

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Tools and Resources for Systemic Thinking

Gosia recommends valuable resources to deepen teams' understanding of systemic thinking and Lean principles.

"Check out... Lean Software Development... and Fifth Discipline which shows you the systemic thinking." (09:18)

She underscores the importance of continuous learning and adopting comprehensive frameworks to enhance team dynamics and organizational efficiency.

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Conclusion

In this insightful episode, Gosia Smoleńska provides a nuanced perspective on measuring success as a Scrum Master. By prioritizing effective retrospective formats like Lean Coffee, fostering team autonomy, encouraging proactive problem-solving, and integrating systemic thinking, Scrum Masters can drive their teams toward sustained success. Her experiences and strategies offer valuable lessons for Agile practitioners aiming to elevate their craft and empower their teams.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Gosia Smoleńska: "I think it's lean coffee... it's easy. You have some formula that you have to follow... it's easy to understand for people how to actually do it." (01:31)
• Gosia Smoleńska: "You can finish only the topics you can finish. You don't have to go through everything... It also gives this feeling to the team like this is the highest priority." (02:02)
• Gosia Smoleńska: "Success is when we are not needed anymore and no one even noticed that we stopped interfering." (03:19)
• Gosia Smoleńska: "They were like, 'We don't need you here. This is our retrospective.'... It was like sending your children to school for the first time." (04:49)
• Gosia Smoleńska: "The first hint for me is when they stop bringing me issues and start bringing ideas." (05:27)
• Gosia Smoleńska: "They have wanted outcome... I don't have to check with them if they did it... they are showing also we did this and this is how it works." (06:06)
• Gosia Smoleńska: "I use this exercise of 7 waste from Lean Management where you have to actually think what is waste around you." (07:24)
• Gosia Smoleńska: "Check out... Lean Software Development... and Fifth Discipline which shows you the systemic thinking." (09:18)

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Stay Tuned:
Don't miss the next episode where Vasco Duarte delves into the critical role of the Product Owner in Scrum, exploring anti-patterns, support strategies, and real-life examples of exemplary Product Owners.

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References:

• Lean Software Development by Mary and Tom Poppendieck
• The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge

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Note: This summary is based on the transcript provided up to [09:59]. For the full experience, consider listening to the episode.

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.

[Gosia Smolenska]

Face day after day. Hello, everybody. Welcome to our success. Thursday this week we have with us Gosia Smolenska. Hey, Gorgia. Welcome back.

Hello. Thank you for having me.

So, Gorsia, we talk about success for Scrum Masters, but before we dive into that, share with us what's your favorite retrospective format and why?

I think it's lean coffee. I did so many retrospectives in the past, like sailboat or any racing stuff, and I think that link coffee is one of the closest to me because it's. From one hand it's easy. It's like you have coffee, you can feel this pressure going down in the room, and then you have some formula that you have to follow. And from one hand, it's like light discussion. From the other hand, you have formula, and you have to drive it through the formula. And it's easy to understand for people how to actually do it. And sometimes it's fun with giving thumbs up and thumbs down. So I think this one.

Yeah. When you think about the lean coffee, so you've talked about how it helps the pressure reduce, that it has a formula so you know what to do, that it starts with light discussion. It doesn't always end with light discussion, but it does start with light discussion. What do you think is perhaps the most unexpected benefit from a retrospective format like clean coffee in the teams that you've worked with?

I think that we are running really fast all the time. We have meetings and we have to do them fast, on time. In the time box, we have goal. We have to achieve the goal. And in coffee keeps it all. Because you have to keep the time box, you have to go through the formula, but still, it's not that pressured. And you can finish only the topics you can finish. You don't have to go through everything. You don't have to be pressured that, oh, we didn't. We forgot about this one. No, you just prioritize your topics and you speak about the highest priority. And it also gives this feeling to the team like this is the highest priority. Maybe this is how we should work.

Absolutely.

We don't have all the time in the world.

Yeah. That's a great point, by the way, because it does illustrate how we should work in the end. Right. Prioritize, deliver the things you can and then move on.

Yeah, true.

Now we do these retrospectives, of course, because we want to be successful as Scrum Masters and help our teams to succeed as well. But let's focus on our success. When you think about your role as a Scrum Master, Gosia, how do you define success for yourself?

I think it's so cliche, but success is when we are not needed anymore and no one even noticed that we stopped interfering. So when, for example, we don't need to help team with resolving personal conflicts anymore because they actually know how to handle it themselves, or we are not invited every single time for every single meeting to facilitate it because they actually learn how to do it. They actually learned, okay, this is the goal, this is the time box. But also what is the value from having this event? What is the value for actually doing that? So they are able to question themselves as we did that in the past. So it's not only we help them, but we also challenge them and now they do the same. I remember the situation. It was from one hand I was like, oh, I will cry. From the other hand, I was so proud of my team because one time they were like, you know what, we don't need you here. This is our retrospective. We will run it by ourselves. And I was like, on one hand, it was so, so nice because they said, go have a break, have a coffee. We will do the retrospective. We have formula, we know how to do it, we can handle our problems. And from the other hand, it was like, oh, my babies are growing.

I bet it felt like that. I bet.

Yeah. It was like sending your children to school for the first time, you know?

Yeah, I can totally see that now. Of course, before we get to that, there are many stages, right? There are many steps in the journey of a team's development that may end up hopefully ends up with the team being self sufficient and self managing. When you look at the teams that you're working with right now, what are the signs, the tips, the things you're looking for that tell you that yes, they are on that journey and yes, they will get there there at some point.

I think that's the first hint for me is when they stop bringing me issues and start bringing ideas. So it's not like complaining all the time. But it's also, I have this issue, but I thought, I can do it this way.

And when you think about, okay, so they, let's say a team is starting to come to you with suggested answers rather than just questions, because that's another way to put it, right? And what else happens after that. Like what are the other steps, the other things you want to see?

What I want to see is that okay, they have ideas, they have wanted outcome, they just wanted to check it with me and then I don't have to check with them if they did it, they actually implemented and they are showing also we did this and this is how it work and this is what we've learned.

Yeah. So they're not all the time looking for validation, they're just sharing the process with you.

Yeah, yeah. That's a nice way to put it. That's true.

When I think about this team's journey of development, of course I also think about it from the perspective of. Right. So they do need to get to a point where they self manage. But the team is focused on things that when you look at it from the systemic perspective, they are very narrow. Like one deliverable, one sprint, one epic, one product. I mean might be more, but you get the idea. But we as Scrum masters, we can't do that because we know that actually the quality of the work that the team does is influenced by things around the team that they might not even be aware of. How do you help your teams to be mindful and aware that actually they are constantly being influenced by other things outside the team?

That's a great question. And I use for some time, I didn't do it in long, long time, but I use this exercise of 7 waste from Lean Management where you have to actually think what is waste around you. And you are thinking about not only you in a team, but you think about your environment, you think about where are you. And I. How I like to do it is I like to put I'm telling seven because I don't use the last one which is unused talent. I'm not a manager, I cannot reuse their talents. And that's why I decided not use it. But I use it. I put flip charts on the walls or in mural wherever with seven different names of ways. And I'm asking them what ways do you see around you, not in your team, but what ways do you see around you? And then I'm asking them to find those ways where they do have influence on because it's not like you are in the team and you have influence only on the things in your team because sometimes you can help. If you work in Spotify a manner then you have some chapter, then you can have some discussion with your chapter member. Like let's say about the QAs, we have not enough automation and it's stopping us. Why don't you take it with your group of people and work on it systematically in the whole company? Or maybe it will turn out that it's only your team issue and the whole company is going totally different direction and then you have to hollow. So in my opinion it's great tool to realize surroundings.

Absolutely. The seven Wastes from Lean. Definitely. Great. I'll put the link in the show notes. A great book by the POP index is Lean Software Development of course, so check that out as well. The link will be in the show notes.

There's also one. Sorry, there is also one more book, Fifth Discipline, which shows you the systemic thinking. How you can show that systemic thinking is actually the fifth discipline in your work.

Yeah, systems thinking is definitely a set of tools that we should all carry with us. Thank you for sharing that gorse.

Sure.

[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.