In the jungle of Scrum certifications: What do I really need as a Scrum Master?

This is exactly the question I was faced with at the beginning of my career and I have to admit that I was very skeptical about the topic at the time. Everyone was talking about Scrum certifications. You could pick up the word "agile" in the hallway, no matter what area you were in. It also came up over and over again in meetings. It seemed to me that everyone knew all about agile methods.

At second glance, however, I realized that this was not true. Everyone interpreted "agile" differently. It was time to face up to the issue, clear up the prejudices and finally gain clarity. I would like to report on this journey to becoming a Scrum Master.

My Scrum training: the "classic" Scrum certifications

At that time I had the opportunity to attend internal trainings. Since a good acquaintance had recommended SERVIEW trainings to me, I was convinced that I had to somehow get the clearance to attend a Scrum training in Bad Homburg. The experiences my acquaintance could make sounded just too good!

So I started quite classically with the Scrum Master qualification (PSM) and was immediately convinced. Yes, the training is about absolute basics, but it is precisely these that I feel are already not understood in many cases. When I arrived back in the day-to-day business a week after my training, this became particularly visible.

Over time, it became clear to me that I needed to get to grips with Scrum even more intensively in order to really push it forward in the organization and make use of all its benefits. So the next training and subsequent certification as a Scrum Product Owner (PSPO) followed, and later PSMII. I wanted to learn even more techniques to sustainably improve decision-making within the team. Facilitation with Liberating Structures and a better understanding of the challenges of middle management were therefore on the agenda.

The way into practice: This is what I was able to take with me

One thing I realized very early on was that, in addition to the hard and soft skills that a Scrum Master should have, it is particularly important to involve the team in the decision-making process. The team does not have to fit the Scrum Master, but the Scrum Master should fit the team much more. An easy way to find the right Scrum Master is to ask the team members how they imagine the perfect Scrum Master for their team. How would we even know if the Scrum Master is right for the team if you don't ask the team and involve them in the decision? Especially because the tasks of the Scrum Master are very different from team to team. Therefore, you already make the first big mistake if you do not involve the team - as a facilitator, trainer, consultant, coach and mentor, the "personal fit" is so extremely important.

How important this personal basis really is, I notice even more in a time when a pandemic ensures that we stay at home and maintain an even lower level of exchange with our team. For me as a Scrum Master, it has become one of the main tasks to establish a good connection with the individual members in the team in order to really do justice to my role.

My most important lessons learned: I will continue to pay attention to these in the future

What have I learned in all this time? Clearly, Scrum is an incomplete framework that depends on the people who use it. If the people who work with it do not develop it for themselves, no successes will occur. Referring only to the theory and seeing nothing but the Scrum Guide 2020 is not enough to be truly successful.

What I often find in addition: Despite having Scrum certifications, many Scrum Masters lack a certain degree of empathy. Building empathy and improving at it is not easy - I notice that in my own person as well. However, for a Scrum Master, this should be at the top of the list. It is incredibly important to understand that the shift to agile processes is an incredibly big change in working as well as in our own thinking for everyone involved. This is exactly the understanding we need to signal to our colleagues: It's okay that not everything is running smoothly right now. Mistakes are part of the job, and that's a good thing, because we learn from them and continue to develop.