Is a scrum master a leader or a facilitator?

Asked by: Eduardo Perkins

The Scrum Master serves as a facilitator for both the Product Owner and the Development Team.

Is facilitator same as Scrum Master?

Quite often, when we ask people to describe the Scrum Master as a facilitator, the only answer we get is that the Scrum Master facilitates the Scrum events. Sure, the Scrum Master is responsible for the Scrum process and should support the team in optimising their process.

Is Scrum Master a leader?

The Scrum Master is a servant leader who enables teams to self-organize, self-manage, and deliver via effective Lean-Agile practices. The Scrum Master supports ScrumXP, Kanban, and other ways of working the team have adopted.

How is a Scrum Master a facilitator?

A great Scrum Master is able to facilitate an event that leads to a high-quality decision that is owned by the whole group attending that event. By default, the Scrum Master facilitates the Scrum events: Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review and Sprint Retrospectives or even a Product Backlog refinement session.

Is Scrum Master a coach or mentor?

In the context of a Scrum team, the Scrum Master must be able to mentor the team and help to develop a continuous learning mindset that goes far beyond the basic principles. Similar to coaching, mentoring also requires a bit of creativity and artistry – something that is very difficult to master.

Who is a facilitator in scrum?

As described in the definition of a facilitator, this is someone who helps a group of people understand and achieve their objectives by promoting collaboration, optimising the process and creating synergy within the team. Given this context, facilitation encompasses far more than only hosting the Scrum events.

Does Scrum Master facilitate team decisions?

The scrum master helps the team evolve an effective agenda over time, cutting out low-value activities and enhancing the event where needed. On the day, the scrum master helps the team to stay focused on what they need to cover and reminds them when they are going off-topic.

Why Scrum Master is a servant leader?

As a servant leader, the primary responsibility of the Scrum Master is to help the development team perform. They help the team perform to the best of their abilities by giving them an environment that is conducive to work in, encouraging them, guiding them and removing obstacles that may hinder progress.

Why Scrum Master is a true leader?

The Scrum Master is a true leader who focuses on making systemic changes so people in the company can thrive while the Product Owner is a true leader who focuses on optimising value for the customers and the business through the product he/she owns.

What is the role of a Scrum Master?

Summary: The scrum master helps to facilitate scrum to the larger team by ensuring the scrum framework is followed. He/she is committed to the scrum values and practices, but should also remain flexible and open to opportunities for the team to improve their workflow.

Is Scrum Master a teacher?

According to the Scrum Guide, the Scrum Master is responsible for ensuring Scrum is understood and enacted. Scrum Masters do this by ensuring the Scrum Team adheres to Scrum theory, practices and rules[1]. They guide the team back to agile practices and principles when they stray[2].

What is coaching in Scrum Master?

The Scrum Master coaches the Development Team, the Product Owner, and the Organization. Coaching empowers and brings out the best in them. A coach helps in unleashing a person’s or a team’s latent potential. This helps to maximize performance with the same amount of effort.

How does Scrum Master lead by example?

Leads by example.
A great Scrum Master is someone that team members want to follow. He does this by inspiring them to unleash their inner potential and showing them the desired behavior. At difficult times, he shows them how to act on it; he doesn’t panic, stays calm and helps the team find the solution.

Why Scrum Master has no authority?

A scrum master has no formal authority within an organization, other than the authority to shepherd the team through the rituals of scrum, and maintain the artifacts that track the team’s progress. But the scrum master has ultimate authority when it comes to the scrum process and how it’s being applied.

Who does a Scrum Master report to?

The Scrum Master reports to a leader in a dedicated “Agile Practice” department. Some organizations have created a separate department dedicated to their Agile implementation efforts. This would also be the group where Agile Coaches would report.