05/07/22, 08:30 Scrum Master – A Manager – Ullizee-Inc

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Posted on 26 November 2014 by Gunther — 19 Comments

Scrum Master – A Manager

Manager – Traditionally
Traditionally an individual is declared a ‘manager’ when having hierarchical control
over other individuals. A traditional manager exerts power. A traditional manager
commands people through the assignment of to-be-done work; expressed as tasks or
work packages, given on a daily base or via to-be-followed plans. Subsequently a
traditional manager follows up on the execution of the assigned work. The traditional
manager does not wait for the results of the work but wants to see how the work is being
carried out, who is doing it, when the tasks are being performed and how much time it
is taking. The time it takes is in general compared to the time that was instructed the
task should take.

This and other performance information is recorded and stored, mostly in reports and
other forms of documents. The traditional manager (in)frequently uses the stored
information to evaluate a subordinate in order to steer that person’s career; via carrots
like education, promotion, incentives, bonuses, salary. The traditional manager acts as
the one who knows it all, and is supposed to act in the best interest of the company and
its shareholders, even if that interest is obscured from the people assigned with the
actual productive work.

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‘manager’ behaving according to this authoritarian pattern and traditional expectation,
it is even highly counterproductive and extremely discouraging. It undermines
enthusiasm, disregards intrinsic motivation by focusing solely on extrinsic motivators,
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05/07/22, 08:30 Scrum Master – A Manager – Ullizee-Inc

catastrophic for an organization depending on people. It is without

doubt disrespectful and inhumane.

Is the notion of ‘manager’ therefore forever corrupted? Evil by default? A lost

case?

Management – Actually
Scrum, like all things agile, has a very different viewpoint on working with people and
on the aspect of management, but it does not the disregard that the activity of
managing is required.

Let’s explore this different perspective upon the statement that “Scrum Master is a
‘management’ position”.

Indeed:

1. A Scrum Master is a manager. Contrary to the traditional idea of a ‘manager’, a

Scrum Master has no formal power over the people in the Development Team, not
deciding over their careers, incentives, etc. A Scrum Master does not manage the
people or their tasks. But a Scrum Master does manage (via) the Scrum process.
Within an organization a Scrum Master is accountable for the maximization of
Scrum, for ensuring that people, teams, departments and the organization realize
the highest benefits possible from using Scrum. A Scrum Master is accountable
for the way Scrum is understood and enacted. This requires management skills,
traits and insights.
2. A manager is a Scrum Master is a manager. A Scrum Master is explicitly
responsible for removing Impediments. Impediments are elements that limit the
efficiency and progress of a Development Team in areas that are beyond the reach
of self-organization of a Development Team. Impediments are most often found
in the wider organization, in company processes, procedures, and structures.
Removal
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05/07/22, 08:30 Scrum Master – A Manager – Ullizee-Inc

A Scrum Master indeed is a manager, albeit not in the traditional sense. It is clear that a
Scrum Master does not manage budget, people, work and tasks. Product Owners
manage investments. Teams manage themselves. However, self-organization as
promoted through Scrum does require goals and boundaries. A Scrum Master manages
the boundaries that Scrum provides to augment self-organization; time-boxing to limit
risk, focused efforts, cross-functional collaboration, releasable results, validated
learning.

The Scrum process does no more than framing the creativity of people in their joint
creation of valuable software. The process of Scrum lays out a foundation for rhythm
and discovery. A Scrum Master manages the Scrum process through the provision of
specific services like removing Impediments, facilitating teams, educating the
organization, coaching people and keeping the road open to perform, to work, to
innovate, to be creative. The services that the Scrum Master provides, needs to provide
or is allowed to provide become a mirror to the state of Scrum in an organization.

Scrum Master can be seen as a management position because the Scrum Master role
holds what is expected from a manager in an agile context, not because it reflects what
traditionally is expected from a manager. A managing Scrum Master is a wise leader
that engages people through organizational purpose and vision.

Manager – A Scrum Master

A manager who acts like a Scrum Master optimizes the value of management to the
organization. The optimization lies not in commanding and controlling tasks and
detailed work items. The value a manager brings lies in identifying wasteful activities,
eliminating waste, removing impediments, embracing complexity by assuring Scrum is
understood and enacted, from its principles and roots in empiricism, building on the
core Scrum Stance, propelling on opportunistic experimentation, setting goals, and
maintaining purpose.

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manager turning Scrum Master is a person that does not hide in a far-away office. Not
hiding is much more than merely creating an open door policy. An open door is a fake
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manager. The workfloor buzz does not enter through that door. The flow needs to be
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05/07/22, 08:30 Scrum Master – A Manager – Ullizee-Inc

reversed. The Scrum Master-manager walks around, is part of the workplace with the
teams, the place where the real value is created. In Lean this place is referred to as
Gemba.

It can even be taken some steps further with the idea of Empirical Management.

Management – Definitely
Even in an agile context, the act of managing remains a valuable activity. The act of
managing is performed by managers.

Teams manage themselves. They organize their work autonomously. They are
managers too. Product Owners manage the product’s vision and the investments in the
product. Others manage boundaries, company objectives and identity, technical
environments, the Scrum framework. ‘Management’ is the collection of all such
activities. Management done properly thrives on servant-leadership. ‘Management’ is
not a collection of people executing hierarchical powers. It is an emergent, networked
structure of co-managers, people with complementary skills, focus and accountability,
mutually exchanged services. All seek direction. Collaboratively. Continually. Skills and
meaningful conversation prevail over title, hierarchy and position.

“What you say has priority over how you look.”

Is a manager who turned Scrum Master still a manager then?

Categories: Agile, Scrum, Scrum.org, Werk / Work

Tags: Agile, Empirical Management, Enterprise Scrum, Scrum

 A Mirror of the Scrum Master’s Work (so 2014 in review – Blog statistics (Gunther
far) Verheyen) 
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