professional development Archives - Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast

Gunnar Fischer: Accepting Not Being Accepted—The People-Pleasing Trap That Broke a Scrum Master

“I accepted not being accepted, and that was a big failure.” – Gunnar Fischer

Gunnar’s biggest failure wasn’t a single bad decision—it was an attitude he carried into work for far too long. As an Agile coach and Scrum Master, he watched a new high-ranking manager arrive who didn’t like the team, didn’t respect them, never even officially introduced herself. And Gunnar did the worst possible thing: he played along.

He did the people-pleasing dance without ever getting feedback, recognition, or even a basic conversation. He formed ideas as a team, did the work, asked for nothing back—and accepted that nobody looked at the work. In hindsight, the Scrum value of respect was the missing piece.

“The members of a Scrum team respect each other to be capable, independent people, and are also respected as such by the others.” Gunnar respected others. He did not demand that respect for himself. The wake-up came in Ecuador—swimming with sharks in the open sea, he realized he felt safer there than in his own office. So he updated his CV, took an internal switch, and finally stepped out of victim mode.

His real insight is uncomfortable: if you read about something good—getting time for your own development, being heard, being respected—and you instinctively deflect it or make excuses for why you can’t have it, that’s a very clear indicator you’ve internalized being small.

In this episode, we refer to The Coach’s Casebook by Geoff Watts, specifically the chapter on people-pleasing.

Self-reflection Question: When was the last time someone described a healthy professional environment to you, and you found yourself making excuses for why you couldn’t have it?

Transform Your Agile Teams with Hard-Earned Lessons from Super-Experienced Scrum Masters

Do you wish you had decades of experience? Learn from the Best Scrum Masters In The World, Today! The Tips from the Trenches – Scrum Master edition audiobook includes hours of audio interviews with SM’s that have decades of experience: from Mike Cohn to Linda Rising, Christopher Avery, and many more. Super-experienced Scrum Masters share their hard-earned lessons with you. Learn those today, make your teams awesome!

About Gunnar Fischer

Gunnar is the leader of the Chocolate Guild. Agile practitioner with a software developer background and a strong interest in people, intercultural contacts and the bigger picture. Gunnar’s purpose is to teach and to learn, to grow as a person and to support others who want the same.

You can link with Gunnar Fischer on LinkedIn.

You can also read Gunnar’s writing on his blog, Leader of the Chocolate Guild.

BONUS: Zach Goldberg shares how to build high-performing engineering teams and master the startup CTO role

In this BONUS episode, we dive deep into the world of startup leadership with Zach Goldberg, author of The Startup CTO’s Handbook. We explore the critical transition from engineering to leadership, the art of balancing technical debt with startup urgency, and the communication skills that separate great CTOs from the rest.

The Genesis of The Startup CTO’s Handbook

“My original training in software engineering was not enough for being a leader. All the people and leadership skills, I had to learn on my own.”

Zach’s journey to writing The Startup CTO’s Handbook began with a stark realization about the gap between technical training and leadership reality. Despite his classical software engineering background, he discovered that the people and leadership skills required for CTO success had to be self-taught. The book emerged from a growing Google Doc of topics and frameworks addressing the leadership and management challenges that CTOs consistently face – from hiring and performance management to making strategic decisions under pressure. Today, we can either buy the digital/print book on Amazon, or read the book on GitHub.

In this segment, we also refer to the book The Great CEO Within.

Learning to Truly Learn: The Max Mintz Story

“Max only cared about my ability to learn – to get curious about something hard. He wanted to help me deal with complexity.”

Zach opens his book with a deeply personal story about his mentor, Max Mintz, who fundamentally changed his approach to learning during what he calls “the most impactful single coffee” of his life. Over 1.5 years of conversations, Max taught him that true learning isn’t about accumulating facts, but about developing curiosity for hard problems and building the capacity to handle complexity. This lesson forms the foundation of effective CTO leadership – the ability to continuously learn and adapt in an ever-changing technical landscape.

The Three Critical CTO Mistakes

“As a CTO, the most important 3 things: people, people, people. Do the people have the right energy, the right passion? Assemble the right team.” Continue reading BONUS: Zach Goldberg shares how to build high-performing engineering teams and master the startup CTO role

Global Agile Summit Preview: Mastering Your Own Career Success as a Scrum Master with Fred Deichler

In this BONUS Global Agile Summit preview episode, we explore the journey of Fred Deichler, a technology leader and the host of the product track at the Global Agile Summit (GAS). Fred shares his insights on what makes Scrum Masters successful in their roles and as individuals. Through his personal story and practical advice, Fred offers valuable lessons on continuous learning, community involvement, and self-reflection—three key elements that have contributed to his remarkable career journey.

The Journey to Mastering Your Own Success

“I didn’t think I was different from anyone else. For me it was a long process, but for others it looked like too fast.”

Fred’s journey of self-discovery began when someone asked him a simple yet profound question: “How did you achieve so much so fast?” This question prompted him to reflect on his career path and the factors that contributed to his success. Fred shares how this moment of introspection led him to identify the key elements that have shaped his career trajectory and personal growth, offering valuable insights for Scrum Masters looking to master their own success.

The Power of Continued Education

“Early in my career, I thought that my manager was there to tell me what to learn. As a manager I can inspire people, but I can’t tell you what to learn.”

Fred emphasizes the importance of taking ownership of your learning journey. He discusses how his perception of education evolved throughout his career, moving from a passive approach to an active pursuit of knowledge. Fred highlights the significance of understanding your learning style, referencing the VARK learning model, and embraces the idea that it’s okay to be different from others in how you absorb and process information. This section provides Scrum Masters with valuable insights on how to approach continuous education for personal and professional growth.

Leveraging Community Involvement

“Take those ideas that you learned and flesh them out with other people.” Continue reading Global Agile Summit Preview: Mastering Your Own Career Success as a Scrum Master with Fred Deichler

BONUS: How to create psychological safety at work with Mehmet Baha

In this BONUS episode, we talk about the essential elements of creating psychological safety at work with Mehmet Baha, one of Facebook’s first European employees and a renowned psychological safety expert. Drawing from his extensive experience and new book, Baha shares practical tools, inspiring examples, and thought-provoking insights that can help transform workplace culture.

This episode builds on Mehmet’s guest blog post on the concepts we discuss. You can find Baha’s guest blog post on psychological safety here.

The Power of the 16-32-64 Framework

The conversation begins with Baha introducing his innovative “16-32-64” framework, a comprehensive approach that combines head (cognition), heart (emotion), and hands (practice). This framework provides 16 inspiring examples, 32 practical tools, and 64 questions designed to foster psychological safety in the workplace. Baha explains how this interactive approach encourages readers to reflect and take action, emphasizing the importance of collaboration with professionals worldwide in developing these thought-provoking questions.

“When I was writing the book, I thought about how I could make this interactive. How can I make readers take action? So, I realized that questions are a powerful tool to help readers to reflect and take these ideas into action.”

Debunking Psychological Safety Myths

Baha addresses three major misconceptions about psychological safety that often hinder organizational progress. He emphasizes that psychological safety isn’t just about being nice or avoiding difficult conversations, nor is it solely about encouraging conflict. Through real-world examples, including a compelling story about a mining company leader who transformed workplace safety through psychological safety principles, Baha demonstrates how this approach can drive tangible business results.

“According to research, when employees feel that their opinions count, we see happiness, reduction in turnover and more productivity.”

Practical Tools for Immediate Implementation

Continue reading BONUS: How to create psychological safety at work with Mehmet Baha

Substack Week: AI in Product Management, Enhancing Product Development Through Artificial Intelligence with Toni Dos Santos

In this Substack Week episode, we explore how artificial intelligence is transforming product management with Toni Dos Santos, co-author of The Product Courier newsletter. From automating routine tasks to enhancing strategic decision-making, Toni shares practical insights on leveraging AI to build better products faster and more efficiently.

From Music to Banking to AI Product Management

“I wanted to work in that area to find ways to put innovation to service to the consumers, and making it as invisible as possible.”

Toni’s journey into AI and product management began in an unexpected place – the music industry. After working as a music producer, his interest in innovation led him to banking, where he discovered the untapped potential of data analytics. His experience working with machine learning and deep learning in banking laid the foundation for his current work with generative AI in product management. The launch of ChatGPT in 2022 sparked his deep dive into applying AI to product management challenges.

Revolutionizing User Story Creation with AI

“User stories are a big pain for many product managers, particularly junior ones… The idea is that you provide the AI with a PRD or description of the product, and it’s going to write user stories based on best practices.”

Toni explains how AI can transform the process of writing user stories by automating the initial drafting while preserving the essential collaborative aspects. He emphasizes that while AI can handle the mechanics of writing, the real value comes from using it as a springboard for deeper discussions with the team. The technology can suggest edge cases, highlight potential gaps, and provide a structured foundation for further refinement.

AI as a Tool for Understanding User Needs

“Use all the transcripts, the feedback from user interviews that I have, feed it to AI and retrieve from it the key pain points, the major patterns that it identifies.”

Continue reading Substack Week: AI in Product Management, Enhancing Product Development Through Artificial Intelligence with Toni Dos Santos