Why Collaboration Should Be Your Team's Primary Goal | Somya Mehra

Summary

Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile Storytelling from the Trenches
Episode: Why Collaboration Should Be Your Team's Primary Goal
Guest: Somya Mehra
Release Date: August 14, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast, hosted by Vasco Duarte, Agile Coach and Certified Scrum Master, Vasco welcomes back Somya Mehra, an experienced Scrum Master and Agile Coach. The discussion centers around the pivotal role of collaboration within Agile teams and how Scrum Masters can foster an environment conducive to effective teamwork and continuous improvement.

Favorite Retrospective Formats

[01:23] Somya Mehra:
When asked about her favorite retrospective format, Somya emphasizes the importance of variety to keep teams engaged.
"I don't have the one favorite retrospective. I intentionally try to change the retros with my team because I have noticed when you are using a certain type of retro, people get bored and you don't see that kind of involvement."
She highlights her core retrospective structure, which includes:

• What Went Well: Sets a positive tone by focusing on successes, even amidst challenges.
• How We Can Improve: Encourages constructive discussions on areas for enhancement without devolving into negative rants.

Additionally, Somya incorporates a Gratitude section during significant moments, such as the end of a sprint or when a team member leaves, to boost morale and foster appreciation among team members.

The Power of Gratitude in Retrospectives

[04:29] Vasco Duarte:
Vasco underscores the significance of expressing gratitude within teams.
"Gratitude is so important because very often we see things are going well and we don't say it out loud. We don't create the positive energy that comes from saying things out loud."

[04:52] Somya Mehra:
Somya elaborates on the indirect impacts of gratitude:
"Whenever you have a talk with somebody who is leaving the company, they always tell you, like, now I'm leaving the company and people are telling good things about me and I feel bad that I'm not now leaving the company. So if you have this more often and you give them this gratitude so they will feel like, okay, I'm valued."
By regularly expressing appreciation, teams can enhance individual sense of value and reduce turnover intentions.

Defining Success for Scrum Masters

[06:07] Somya Mehra:
Vasco poses a crucial question: "What does success mean for us as Scrum Masters?"
Somya responds by contrasting tangible metrics often valued in technical roles with the intangible, personal measures of success in Scrum Mastery.
"A Scrum Master success is very intangible. You can't measure it with your work or something, but it's very personal also."
Key indicators of success include:

• Mutual Respect and Trust: Team members respect and trust one another.
• Psychological Safety: Team members feel safe to ask questions and express concerns without fear of judgment.
• Autonomous Collaboration: Teams collaborate naturally without needing constant prompting from the Scrum Master.

Somya advocates for prioritizing these qualitative aspects over quantitative metrics like velocity or story points, arguing that fostering a healthy team culture leads to more sustainable success.

Practical Application: Building Trust and Addressing Team Dynamics

[08:27] Somya Mehra:
Somya shares a practical example of her approach to building trust and addressing team dynamics:
"There was a situation in my team where we had a new joiner who was not good with communication. He used to say things in a rude way. I talked with the people he was interacting with to understand their feelings, and then I approached him with the feedback in a non-blaming manner."
This approach highlights:

• Active Listening: Understanding the concerns of team members before addressing issues.
• Non-Blaming Conversations: Approaching sensitive topics with empathy and support.
• Building Trust: Creating an environment where team members feel safe to have open and honest dialogues.

[10:23] Vasco Duarte:
Vasco adds, emphasizing the importance of addressing behaviors through curiosity rather than blame:
"You're looking at the behaviors that you want to see and then when they are not there or when the opposite is there, you tackle it not as a blaming exercise, but rather as a curiosity exercise."
This method encourages a culture of continuous improvement and mutual understanding.

Host’s Reflections and Key Takeaways

Throughout the conversation, Vasco and Somya stress that collaboration should be the cornerstone of any Agile team. By fostering an environment of trust, respect, and continuous improvement, Scrum Masters can lead their teams toward genuine success that transcends mere metrics.

Conclusion

This episode of the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast offers invaluable insights into the softer skills essential for effective Scrum Masters. Through Somya Mehra's experiences and strategies, listeners gain a deeper understanding of how to cultivate collaboration, express gratitude, and define success in meaningful, intangible ways. By prioritizing these aspects, Scrum Masters can significantly enhance team dynamics and drive sustained Agile success.

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Notable Quotes:

• Somya Mehra ([01:37]): "I intentionally try to change the retros with my team because I have noticed when you are using a certain type of retro, people get bored and you don't see that kind of involvement."

• Vasco Duarte ([04:29]): "Gratitude is so important because very often we see things are going well and we don't say it out loud."

• Somya Mehra ([06:07]): "A Scrum Master success is very intangible. You can't measure it with your work or something, but it's very personal also."

• Vasco Duarte ([10:23]): "You're looking at the behaviors that you want to see and then when they are not there or when the opposite is there, you tackle it not as a blaming exercise, but rather as a curiosity exercise."

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Stay Connected:
To delve deeper into Agile practices and connect with a community of Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches, consider joining the Scrum Master Toolbox membership at scrummastertoolbox.org/membership.

Transcript

[Vasko]

Hey there agile adventurer, just a quick question. What if for the price of a fancy coffee or half a pizza, you could unlock over 700 hours of the best agile content on the planet? That's audio, video, E courses, books, presentations, all that you can think of. But you can also join live calls with world class practitioners and hang out in a flame war free and AI slop clean slack with the sharpest minds in the game. Oh, and yes, you get direct access to me, Vasko, your Scrum Master Toolbox podcast. No, this is not a drill. It's this Scrum Master Toolbox membership. And it's your unfair advantage in the agile world. So if you want to know more, go check out scrummastertoolbox.org membership. That's scrummastertoolbox.org Membership. And check out all the goodies we have for you. Do it now. But if you're not doing it now, let's listen to the podcast.

[Host]

Hello everybody. Welcome to our success Thursday. The big question of the week this week with Somia Mehra. Hey Somia, welcome back.

[Somya Mehra]

Thank you for having me again.

[Host]

Absolutely. So on Thursdays we talk about success and what it means for us as Scrum Masters. But before we dive into that, share with us what's your favorite retrospective format and why?

[Somya Mehra]

Honestly, this is the difficult one because I don't have the one favorite retrospective. The reason behind is like I intentionally try to change the retros with my team because I have noticed when you are using certain one type of retro, people are getting bored and you don't see that kind of involvement with them because they're seeing the same thing again and again. So for me it's very important to have this kind of curiosity, something new happening within the team so that they can talk about it. So that's why I prefer not to have a certain kind of retros again and again. But to answer your question, I do have a core structure for my retros. The core structure always include two things. They are the strong pillars of my retro. The first one is what went well and the second one and the second one is how we can improve. The reason behind having these two columns or these two sessions is what went well. Always set up the mood of your team on a higher note. They'll think about the good things that happened even if something bad has happened during the sprint. But they talk about the good things. And the improved section gives session gives you a room to not to like to talk about how to improve on the things rather than ranting about what went wrong. So these are the two core pillars of my retro board. Obviously I changed the name here and there, but these are the two code pillars. And then the next session, the last one, or maybe the two session depends on what kind of situation we had. Like, suppose if I'm having a sprint, like a quarter ending retro project ending retro, or somebody's leaving the team or the organization, then I make sure to have a gratitude column or a session for the people. The reason behind is like, whenever you have this kind of session or a section in the retro and people appreciate each other, the motivation rise. So it's a human tendency to expect some kind of appreciation when you are doing something for your team or for your organization. So. So that's why I like to keep this section that. Okay, if somebody is leaving or if we are having, if we are closing a big thing or after a very long time, then please show some gratitude and motivation to the team members.

[Host]

Absolutely. And gratitude is so important because very often we see things are going well and we don't say it out loud. We don't create the positive energy that comes from saying things out loud. And gratitude, practice and appreciation. Practice brings that up, makes that obvious and creates positive energy within the team.

[Somya Mehra]

And it also has one, I would say, not a direct kind of impact, an indirect kind of impact. Whenever you have a talk with somebody who is leaving the company, they always tell you, like, now I'm leaving the company and people are telling good things about me and I feel bad that I'm not now leaving the company. So if you have this more often and you give them this gratitude so they will feel like, okay, I'm valued. So the thinking of, am I valuable? What I'm doing in this company, I should go somewhere else where I'm more valuable. That kind of thoughts are, you know, are blocked by having this kind of conversation every now and then within the team members.

[Vasko]

Absolutely.

[Host]

That's a great point. One that we don't talk often enough. Right. Because people don't leave all the time. So we don't talk about it. But it's a very important point.

[Somya Mehra]

Yeah.

[Host]

So Samya, we do this retros because we want to help the team succeed. And of course we want ourselves to succeed. So the big question though is what does success mean for us as Scrum masters? What's your take on that question, Samya?

[Somya Mehra]

I've been asked this question many times, especially from the Scrum Masters who are coming from a tech role. Because in tech role you have tangible things to prove your success and they Are like what? Like, for them, they see Scrum Master, somebody who is just, you know, carrying out the events and then they are vanished. So then for them it's like, what's your success? And I always tell them that a Scrum Master success is very intangible. You can't measure it with your work or something, but it's very personal also. So when somebody asks me what a successful Scrum Master look, or if I consider myself I'm successful as a Scrum Master for a team or not, I would say, like, if my team is having three, four things in common, like, they respect each other, they trust each other, that, okay, if I'm giving, if somebody has taken the work, they'll be able to deliver it. They respect each other. Like, there is no fear of, like, being judgmental about somebody if somebody is asking you a question. There is a psychological safety within the team that you can ask anything about anything to anyone at any time and you are not going to get a rude answer like, oh, such a stupid question or anything like that. So if you have made this kind of things in your team, then you will see, like, you won't ask people to collaborate, they will collaborate on their own because these pillars are set up and when the collaboration is flowing well, you as a Scrum Master has succeeded. And yeah, so for me, I think these are the key things. Rather than going for velocity or efficiency, how efficient, or how many story points your team is closing in a sprint, you should go for these kind of qualities that are there in your teams or not.

[Host]

When you think about your own way of assessing your success, right? Like, how do you bring this reflection, this definition you just share with us, how do you bring that to your daily work?

[Somya Mehra]

I will give you one more example of it. Like, there was a situation in my team where we had a new. Like the current team was collaborating well, everyone was asking questions and things were going good, but there was another new joiner who was not good with the communication. So there were things he used to say which he should not, but he was not minting it. But he used to say it in a rude way, like, okay. And I saw it happening twice or thrice, learned from my previous mistake, talked with the people who, with whom he was saying it in the meetings, like how you feel about it. And those people trusting me enough to say, like, yes, they feel that they are being disrespected. So the trust is here with the Scrum Master. They are telling me openly that, yeah, that's the problem. Soumya Then me talking to this new guy that, hey, this is the kind of situation we are having right now and this is the feedback that we are getting for, like, for you from the people. And he also trusting me that I'm not blaming him. I'm here to help him out with the team and adjust him into the team. And he telling me like, he's open to have a talk, open talk with whoever has a problem and try to improve it. So that says a lot. Like, okay, within a period of time I have gained and formed this trust within my team where they trust me enough to have this kind of sensitive conversation and they trust themselves enough. Like, okay, if somebody is open enough to have a talk on this sensitive topic, then there is a safe place to talk about it.

[Host]

The key thing about that story for me is this idea that you're looking at the behaviors that you want to see and then when they are not there or when the opposite is there, right? Like lack of respect as you just described, then you tackle it not as a blaming exercise, but rather as a curiosity exercise. Hey, why is this happening? How do you feel? Have you noticed that people feel this way when you say things in that way, like bringing up the topic? So that's a very practical, I think, very practical way to bring this focus on the right collaborative behaviors into your day to day work. So thank you for sharing that with us, Somija.

[Somya Mehra]

You're welcome, Vasco.

[Vasko]

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[Host]

Slack 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.

[Somya Mehra]

Sam.