Spikes And Stories

Scrum tips and agile insights from a Silicon Valley agile coach

Can We Rotate the Scrum Master Role?

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So can teams rotate the Scrum Master role? Sure, but should they? No, it most circumstances I don’t believe so.

First, I think high-performing teams can rotate the role, but I’ve run into only a handful of teams that I’d say meet that bar. Is your team one of those? Likely not. Maybe that’s cynical of me. However, over the years I’ve uncovered more collections of individuals than I have teams, and I like to believe that 10 years as a U.S. Marine has given me a trained eye for identifying kick ass teams.

Disheartening but true. Over time, I hope my contributions and the contributions of so many others tilt the scales, but the reality is we’re not there yet. Years from now, I intend to re-read this post, smile, and realize how far we’ve come.

So why do so many teams wish to rotate the Scrum Master role? Let’s talk about that today. And let’s start with a truly surprising tweet I ran across recently.

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A Survival Guide for Navigating Conflict

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I’m difficult but with purpose. 

I’ve said this about myself on numerous occasions, and I’m sure many of the bosses I’ve had over the years had a hell of a time managing me.  Then again, like Grace Hopper said:

You manage things.  You lead people.

And it’s not that I’m trying to be difficult.  I just enjoy debate. No, that’s not right. I enjoy understanding what makes others tick, and that can be more easily explored where we disagree.  I believe it’s this mindset that’s helped me with navigating conflict. 

In fact, it reminds me of the highest praise I’ve received as a coach. A few years ago, three team members were talking privately, and I came up.  One of them later shared with me the screenshot you see here.  My wish is that all of us receive this kind of feedback at some point in our careers.

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Four Things Becoming a Pilot Taught Me About Coaching

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Have you ever wanted to learn to fly? Who wouldn’t want to enjoy a bird’s eye view of San Francisco or have a beautiful view of rush hour traffic as you speed over packed highways. Every year, I set a goal for myself to learn or do something new in the spirit of continuous learning. I think we all should. After all, shouldn’t we coaches have a thirst for knowledge?

Usually, my goals are professional in nature, but I decided to make an exception, and I’m glad I did. Working toward my private pilot’s license has taught me a lot about myself and my craft, and today I thought I’d share some of those lessons.

Certificated Not Certified

On a wall in our school, there’s a white board that lists all our Certified Flight Instructors (CFI). My CFI looked at it once and said:

It’s not Certified Flight Instructors; it’s really Certificated Flight Instructors.


The same applies to Certified Scrum Masters. We’re not certified; we’re certificated. Further, those newly minted CSMs aren’t masters; they’re novices. Unfortunately, Certificated Scrum Novice doesn’t quite have the same ring.

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How To Introduce Agile To the Uninitiated

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A few months back, a colleague of mine and his organization were about to begin their agile journey. They had piloted Scrum with a single team, and this team was going to share their experiences at an off site with the rest of their small organization. At this same off site, he asked if I’d be willing to take an hour to introduce agile to his organization. I told him I would, and then I realized the challenge I faced.

How would I distill a decade of experiences to sixty minutes of content? Further, I was certain some of the crowd had a misunderstood version of agility imposed on them at some previous org. Others though were hearing about it for the first time. So how could I talk to both groups simultaneously? Also, how could I connect with my audience on a personal level in order to elevate their concerns and questions?

My approach? I stripped away all the silly buzzwords and labels, I spoke in terms of preferences instead of in terms of right and wrong, and I asked a ton of questions using one simple slide.

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