{"id":54478,"date":"2025-05-28T12:40:02","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T12:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/academy.xebia.com\/us\/?p=54478"},"modified":"2025-05-28T12:40:02","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T12:40:02","slug":"from-whimsical-to-athletic-agile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/academy.xebia.com\/us\/from-whimsical-to-athletic-agile\/","title":{"rendered":"From Whimsical to Athletic Agile."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n\t\n\tFrom Whimsical to Athletic Agile.<\/h1><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\n\tDon’t leave performance up to chance.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\tThe synergy of individuals coalescing to achieve something extraordinary is mesmerizing.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t25 July 2024<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n

\n\t\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n<\/picture>\t\t\n\tSjoerd Nijland<\/h2>\t\t

\n\tProfessional Scrum Trainer<\/p>\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\tAs noted above, the final element of a Scrum Master\u2019s responsibilities lies within the entire organization you\u2019re working at. As a Scrum expert, you\u2019ll have the knowledge, and responsibility, to make other teams and departments in the organization understand the basics of Scrum.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\tYou can take a proactive role in sharing Scrum knowledge, teaching and supporting other teams with practical knowledge, helping fellow Scrum Masters, and explaining the basics to leadership teams. Let\u2019s dive deeper into what I mean by that.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\n\tTeach leadership how Agile changes their accountability<\/h3><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\n\tWorking with Scrum impacts everyone: not only your team members but also the different management and leadership teams.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\tAs we want teams to self-manage in Scrum, many managers will wonder what their new role will be in this Scrum environment that they don\u2019t know yet. As a Scrum Master, you can help them by understanding and identifying the changes in their role and explaining how the team dynamics work.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\n\tTeach Scrum within the organization
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\n\tA Scrum Team can perfectly \u2018scrum\u2019 by themselves but there are also many dependencies with other business units or teams throughout the organization. It will greatly benefit you and your team when these stakeholders also understand the principles of Scrum. As a Scrum Master, you can help them by explaining what Scrum is and what that means for them.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\tAlso, when new teams start applying Scrum, a Scrum Master who already works in the organization is in the front seat to explain how Scrum is used within your organization.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\n\tSupport Scrum Masters with their Sprint Retrospective
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\n\tWhen you are in an organization with multiple Scrum Masters, you can help each other out by facilitating a Sprint Retrospective for each other\u2019s team. The Scrum Master can then also become a participant and not just the facilitator, which can lead to different perspectives.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\tOf course, you can also ask your Developers or Developers of a different team to facilitate a Sprint Retrospective. However, it\u2019s in a Scrum Master\u2019s DNA to facilitate that and Developers would need to be part of the Sprint Retrospective, so it would be the better option to take the lead there.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\n\tOrganize a Scrum Master knowledge-sharing session or community
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\n\tOnce you have multiple Scrum Masters in your organization, you can use their knowledge to become better Scrum Masters. Organize Scrum Master knowledge sessions within the organization, or take part in them if those already exist. These sessions are often referred to as Chapters or Communities of Practices and help bring the organization\u2019s overall Scrum knowledge to a higher level.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\tBring your and your organization’s overall Scrum knowledge to a higher level by frequently sharing knowledge.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\n\tReview or compose the Scrum Master vacancy with HR
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\n\tWith the ever-growing demand for Scrum Masters, your organization might be looking for Scrum Masters on a regular basis. Only you and your fellow Scrum Masters know what the activities are and what could convince a Scrum Master to join your organization. Therefore, supporting HR with a job or vacancy description will benefit both you and your organization. Happy hunting!<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\n\tJoin external communities<\/h3><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\n\tOne of Xebia\u2019s principles is \u2018Sharing Knowledge\u2019<\/a>, and it\u2019s a vital part of our DNA. That\u2019s why we\u2019re eager to join external communities as it\u2019s a great opportunity for exchanging real-life experiences. There are many external Scrum communities<\/a> to share knowledge and gain practical insights from like-minded ‘scrummers’.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\tFor instance, I\u2019m part of NL Scrum, an active Scrum community<\/a>. We organize MeetUps with interesting speakers and discuss different topics like aiming for diverse representation in Scrum, scaling your Scrum practices, using Scrum Values, using non-verbal behavior knowledge, and that list goes on and on.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\tWhen you\u2019ve experienced something interesting, learned something great, or failed miserably, why not present a talk yourself?<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\n\tHave talks with other departments<\/h3><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\n\tAs mentioned earlier in this chapter, your organization will have to adjust to working Agile, which means that other departments will need guidance on how to incorporate Agile in their work.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\tOne of the organizations I worked at, for example, wanted to get more insight \u2013 and control \u2013 into how to finance teams in an Agile environment. A Scrum Master can support those other departments in their fields, such as Agile contracting, by involving them in things like security and operations from the start, not when the shit hits the fan.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\n\tDefine approval processes or evaluation moments with HR
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\n\tTraditional evaluation processes run once a year but that seems unfit for Scrum Teams. Since we thrive on continuous feedback in our normal way of working \u2013 not only feedback on the product but also on teamwork, team members, and our own progress as employees \u2013 you should have a talk with HR to redefine the processes and organize regular feedback rounds.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\n\tNever get bored as a Scrum Master
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\n\tNow, let’s discuss the final conclusion(s). While a Scrum Master is often seen as an important part of the Scrum Team, people are often not aware of the many other tasks a Scrum Master might have. As the heart of your Scrum team, your reach goes much further than only that team. You have the knowledge and tools to teach others, share your hands-on experience within the organization, and support peers and colleagues.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\tAs I told you in the overview article, the starting point of the ‘What does a Scrum Master do all day?!’ blog series, your days as a Scrum Master will never be boring or repetitive!<\/strong> Your interaction with different roles in the team, with other teams in the organization, and with colleagues from all levels in your organization, truly makes this a job for a people person.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\tI’m totally aware that I’ve given you a massive list of Scrum Master activities, responsibilities, and possibilities. If you have any questions,\u00a0please do not hesitate to contact me<\/a>. And if you’re up for the task, or would like to enhance your Scrum knowledge, check our\u00a0Scrum training portfolio<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\tHappy scrumming!<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\n\tUpcoming Scrum Master courses<\/h2>\n\t\n\t\t\tView all training courses<\/span>\n\t\n\t<\/a>\n\t
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\n\t\n\tCan\u2019t find the course you\u2019re looking for? There’s more\n<\/h2>\t\t\n\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\tView all courses<\/span>\n\t\n\t<\/a>\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/academy.xebia.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/academy.xebia.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/academy.xebia.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/academy.xebia.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/academy.xebia.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54478"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/academy.xebia.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54478\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54513,"href":"https:\/\/academy.xebia.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54478\/revisions\/54513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/academy.xebia.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/academy.xebia.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}