Is it easy to be a Scrum Master?

NO, especially when you just started your Scrum Master's path. Does it ever get easier? YES, it does, but you need to learn how to overcome some CHALLENGES you may find on your way.

Do you want to know HOW? Then keep reading.

It's “a piece of cake” is what I initially thought of a Scrum Master's role. And probably most of you who have never been a Scrum Master, but had a chance to work with one, think the same. 
I was super excited about my new role. The fact that I didn't need to know any coding part or have some specific skills was such a relief. Everything seemed to be so perfect! I read a 19-page Scrum guide, passed the Scrum test and was so ready to be a GREAT Scrum Master 💁...

And here it all started...

All my “great” ideas for improvements were turned down. No one cared about daily scrums or retrospectives. I was getting more and more frustrated and experiencing lots of resistance and annoyance. This all made me very insecure.

If I could describe it in one word, it would be a “DISASTER.” 😩

All I could think of was I am not any good for this role. I need to run AWAY. 😱

Well, I am not a good runner, so I’ve decided to stay. This, as it turned out, was actually an excellent choice. Now I would like to share with you some of the biggest challenges I’ve faced and some advice on how to overcome them. 

This all scrum/agile "stuff" sounds so simple in books, but in reality, it’s sooo much more difficult.

As you’ve probably heard “Scrum is easy to understand, but difficult to master” so don’t expect miracles to happen right away. Take it in baby steps (I’ve been told this so many times, and only now I finally understand what those baby steps actually mean).

Please don’t be upset if your meetings don’t perfectly go the first time or your team doesn’t meet its commitments. It will all come with practice. I promise. The best advice I can give is to be self-aware, ask for feedback and LISTEN to your team. They are the best people to tell what’s working and what’s not. Make sure your team understands WHAT Agile is and WHY they do Agile. Blindly following Agile without actually being Agile and more importantly seeing value in it, will not do you any good.

Remember, until your team starts seeing value in Scrum/Agile and your role, you will never succeed. 

It’s my job to ask questions, and ALL I am trying to do is to understand WHY

So first of all, whenever possible, try to avoid “why” questions. They can make people uncomfortable, annoyed or defensive.

Suspend any kind of judgment (I know it’s hard but believe me it’s necessary). That will help to avoid feedback that you micromanage or question your team’s competence. Just tell your team members the expected outcome and let them do the rest.

Ask concrete questions; otherwise, you may find yourself getting not a very relative answer. Your question may be just not specific enough.

Don’t ask multiple questions at the same time. People will lose you at some point, and all you will get is 'So what was your question?'


Agile is all about teamwork, but all I see is a bunch of individuals focused on their own thing.

I would say the primary key to teamwork is defining a team goal. Same as a soccer team’s goal is to make a goal, your team should have one or more as well. It can be a sprint or release goal, great feedback on the review, increasing velocity and so on. As long it’s something your whole team contributes to, it will bring them together. 

Create an open and safe environment where it’s OK to fail, ask “stupid” questions, and help each other. There is no teamwork when there is FEAR and no TRUST. 

And, of course, don’t forget about fun. If your team doesn’t laugh together, there may be a reason for that. 

Agile is about continuous improvement, but my team thinks there is nothing to improve or just simply doesn’t care.

Remember, never sell a solution but a problem. There will be no actions taken if no one thinks there is a problem. Present the problem to the team and let them decide what to do. Don’t come up with suggestions for the team especially if you are not the one who is going to implement it. All you can do is just ask questions.

Continuous improvement means change. People don’t like change as it’s stressful and more work. Don’t force your team into anything. It should be their decision, not yours. Otherwise, all you will get is “we’ll talk about that later,” “we already spent too much time on that so let’s move on,” “we are already doing our best” and so on.

What about your Scrum Master's journey? What have you learned from it?