A Research Paper By Sergey Nagin, Leadership Coach, SERBIA
How ICF Coaching Competencies Can Be Applied to the Role of a Scrum Master
My corporate experience includes learning SCRUM and working as a SCRUM Master in a professional team generating digital content for e-learning training programs.
In the process of training and practicing as a peer coach in ICA, I noticed that these two approaches to problem-solving have a number of similar qualities, although, of course, they are not identical and interchangeable.
Here I will analyze how a coaching approach according to ICF standards can be applied to the organization of the work of SCRUM teams, and in more detail – to the role of SCRUM Master. What can bring inspiration and improve the efficiency of SCRUM teams?
What is SCRUM?
According to the definition by Ben Lutkevic (1):
Scrum is a framework for project management that emphasizes teamwork, accountability, and iterative progress toward a well-defined goal. The framework begins with a simple premise: Start with what can be seen or known. After that, track the progress and tweak, it as necessary.
Scrum is often part of Agile software development. It is named for a rugby formation in which everyone plays a role. Software development Scrum roles include the following:
Scrum has three pillars: transparency, inspection, and adaptation. (2)
The Scrum Values of Courage, Focus, Commitment, Respect, and Openness, are all important elements that Scrum Team members must consider when working together.
What Is Coaching?
ICF (3) defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. Coaching is a client-driven process. The coach’s responsibility is to:
- Discover, clarify, and align with what the client wants to achieve
- Encourage client self-discovery
- Elicit client-generated solutions and strategies
- Hold the client responsible and accountable
The coaching process helps clients improve their outlook on work and life while improving their leadership skills and unlocking their potential.
Roles in Scrum and Coaching
SCRUM roles are: (1)
- Scrum Master – the person on the Scrum Team who uses their knowledge of Scrum to help the team and organization to be as effective as they can be; they do so by taking approaches like coaching, teaching, facilitating, and mentoring
- Product Owner – the person on the Scrum Team who makes sure that the team is creating the most valuable product they can create
- Developers – the people on the Scrum Team who work together to create the product
- Coaching roles are:
- Coach – a facilitator of change and a sounding board to a Client on the way of seeking transformation, improvements, and changing perspectives in their lives.
- Client (4) – the individual or team/group being coached, the coach being mentored or supervised, or the coach or the student coach being trained.
How Do ICF Core Competencies Correspond to the Scrum Master’s Job Responsibilities?
- Demonstrates ethical practice
Although any sustainable activity which involves communication with people requires to be ethical and follow ethical principles, it is definitely better developed and precise in the ICF Code of Ethics rather than in the SCRUM Master job description. However, as I’ve mentioned, it is crucial to follow ethical principles in Scrum to ensure effective teamwork.
-
- Embodies a coaching mindset
…a mindset that is open, curious, flexible, and client-centered (5) …Is a must-have for a Scrum master too, as his primary responsibilities are centered around setting up and facilitating effective teamwork of all the members of a Scrum Team.
- Establishes and maintains agreements
This competency is required for both Coach and Scrum Master. If the coach has not made clear the goal of the coaching session, measurement of success, understanding of the importance of the goal to the client, and what the client considers important to address for the achievement of the goal, then further interaction will not be coaching. It turns into merely a conversation between two people, at best, into mentoring or consulting.
The same significance it takes for the Scrum Master. He should ensure that the understanding of the project objectives is aligned between the business, represented by the Product Owner, and the Development team. The Scrum Master is also responsible for the implementation of the process – the effective holding of all planned activities, providing the parties with opportunities to solve the tasks and effectively communicate in the process. As well as the fulfillment of the agreements reached and the timely introduction of the changes needed by the business in accordance with the Scrum procedure.
- Cultivates trust and safety
Trust is one critical Scrum Team characteristic that binds all elements together. If Trust is not present on a Scrum Team, there will likely be tension and bottlenecks in the way of getting work done. (2)
Partners with the client to create a safe, supportive environment that allows the client to share freely. Maintains a relationship of mutual respect and trust. (6)
Possibly one of the most overlapping characteristics required to work as both a coach and a Scrum Master. The need to create an environment in which trust and support are cultivated is evident to professionals whose competencies are in the “soft skills” area. This applies to specialists in a wide range of professions related to HR, Leadership, as well as some areas of psychological help and therapy. The absence of this important component will not allow the coach to achieve results when working with the client, just like it will be impossible for the Scrum Master to maintain effective communication with the Scrum team and move forward toward the implementation of the assigned tasks.
- Maintains presence
“.. a quality of care for another human being that clearly invites another human being to emerge … allowing and being OK to coach to not know. Being curious and not telling. (7)
This core competency is shown in giving space to the client to express their own feelings and thoughts about the selected issue and treating the client as a whole person.
With regard to the Scrum Master’s duties, maintaining presence is more about keeping an eye on the following process and not getting off on a tangent to anything beyond it. It can be easily viewed on any Scrum event – Scrum planning, Standups, Sprint Reviews, or Retrospectives. So any time the Scrum Master feels that the discussion goes too deep into routine talks, or something else outside the scope of a meeting – it is his job to drive it back into the topic as soon as possible. And it may happen only when the Scrum Master is fully engaged at the moment, and familiar with the Scrum process, as well as with the project itself. I really struggled the most with doing this on Daily Standups – as the format doesn’t allow anything besides the very topic and every extra 5 minutes spent on something else drops the effectiveness of the meeting to the bottom.
- Listens actively
“Focuses on what the client is and is not saying to fully understand what is being communicated in the context of the client systems and to support client self-expression.” (6)
Here there’s the point of distinction between the two roles. As the coach “explores and responds to the client’s words, emotions, and feelings, changes in energy, non-verbal cues to ensure client’s clarity and understanding” (6), the tasks of the Scrum Master are more in the area of achieving the same understanding of the tasks undertaken by all stakeholders, ways, and timing of moving towards the goal of a Sprint. This is the difference between the approaches of a Coach and a Scrum Master.
- Evokes awareness
Another competency of a coach is brought into the scope of this review. While some aspects are applicable solely to coaching outlines – such as exploration beyond the client’s thinking towards the Who, the What, and the outcome, other aspects are absolutely necessary for the purpose of helping the Scrum team to move smoothly towards the Spring goal.
These are:
- sharing observations, thoughts, comments, or feelings about the process toward the goal,
- asking clear and precise questions that help the Team to move forward,
- using clear and concise language,
- allowing the Team to do most of the talking.
- Facilitates client’s growth
“Partners with the client to transform learning and insight into action. Promotes client autonomy in the coaching process.”(6)
“…and in new competencies, this is about setting the client up to leave the session with everything in place. They know what their commitment is in terms of what they’ll do. they know their commitment in terms of by when they’ll do it. They have some sense of the connection between the learning in the session that happened and what they’re now able to say “Yes, I feel ready and capable to go and implement this.”(8)
The same applies to the outcome of the Scrum Master’s daily coordination with the Scrum Team. He must assure that all stakeholders have the same understanding of the goals, and the ways, and approaches that will be applied to reach those goals. All team members should have clarity around their next actions, the success measures, and how they influence the whole process to successfully finish the sprint.
Scrum Master Responsibility
Here I tried to provide a brief analysis of the intersections of the major competencies of a coach and a Scrum Master in their fields of responsibility.
Let’s see some common features and differences:
|
Coach What’s Common? |
Scrum Master |
|
Facilitator of change |
|
|
Responsible for following the process, its proper implementation, and maximization of its benefits. |
|
|
Has no direct responsibility over the outcome of a project |
|
|
Cultivates Trust |
| What’s Different? |
|
Allows and invites the client to be fully responsible for solving the problem |
Manager and member of a Scrum Team |
|
May suggest new learnings, but it is up to the client to take it |
Responsible for the education of team members |
|
Accountability partner, sounding board, a supporter |
Removes obstacles in going forward with a project |
|
Not undertaking a leadership role |
Servant leader for the team |
The Coach and the Scrum Master are solely responsible for following the process. Although the process of Scrum is a totally different framework from the coaching process, this role is the same for both as well as a few more.
Both of them are facilitators of change. However, they have no direct responsibility for the outcome. In the coaching case, all responsibility is on the Client. In Scrum, the responsible role is the Product Owner.
As facilitators and change drivers, both need to take all possible steps to cultivate trust within the working environment.
There are a few things where the roles of the Coach and the Scrum Master differ.
While the coach does not connect emotionally to the outcome and leaves the decision-making and control completely to the side of the client to avoid creating dependency, the Scrum Master stands inside the Team and serves as a manager. A similar but slightly different role is Leadership, where the Coach also stands aside while the Scrum Master serves as a servant leader to the Scrum team.
In terms of learning the Scrum Master’s responsibility is to educate the Scrum Team about the process and to make sure all are equally competent. Differently from that, the Coach may suggest new learnings or ideas, but never insist on the Client accept or utilize them, as this is the Client’s journey and responsibility to reach stated goals.
The Coach stands as an accountability partner and a sounding board. The Scrum Master’s approach is more directive. He removes obstacles in going forward with the project.
I find my experience and competencies which I acquired in the role of a Scrum Master as a complementary step on my way to the coaching world, which helped me to get closer to the understanding of a concept and of the practical steps on the way to learn and practice coaching with my peers and clients.
References
https://www.scrum.org/Resources/What-Is-Scrum
https://www.techtarget.com/Searchsoftwarequality/Definition/Scrum
https://coachfederation.org/App/Uploads/2018/06/Unlockyourpotential.PDF
https://coachingfederation.org/Ethics/Code-Of-Ethics
ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC) Markers Revised November 2020 Rev. 06.25.21
https://coachfederation.org/Credentials-And-Standards/Core-Competencies
https://youtu.be/j4jke814plu (ICF Updated Core Competencies 5 Maintains Presence)
https://youtu.be/v7ttmrrygaq (ICF Updated Core Competency 8 Facilitates Client Growth)