self-reflection Archives - Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast

Karen Suarez: “You’re Not Listening”: A Scrum Master’s Wake-Up Call

Karen shares a valuable learning experience when she pushed her team too hard to split user stories and change their story writing approach. The team’s feedback was direct: “You are not listening.” This moment taught Karen several important lessons: not everyone is ready for change at the same time, resistance often contains valuable information about our own actions, and the Scrum Master isn’t always the one who knows better. Karen emphasizes the importance of giving yourself time to pause, reflect, and adapt to the team’s current situation. She also discovered how the product backlog can serve as a powerful communication tool when used properly.

In this segment, we refer to the book Start With Why by Simon Sinek.

Self-reflection Question: When was the last time you received pushback from your team, and what information might that resistance be telling you about your own approach?

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About Karen Suarez

Karen is a dedicated Scrum Master with a long experience driving agile transformations and fostering high-performing teams. She is passionate about continuous learning, and excels in aligning agile practices with organizational innovation.

You can link with Karen Suarez on LinkedIn.

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

Anuj Ojha: From Process Police to People Partner, Self-Accountability and Self-Awareness for Scrum Masters

In this insightful episode, Anuj shares a powerful story of personal growth as a Scrum Master. Initially caught up in the mechanics of Scrum, he found himself trying to control situations and please everyone while rigidly adhering to the Scrum Guide.

Through a three-step journey of self-awareness, feedback-seeking, and actualization, Anuj discovered that his true challenge lay in understanding himself and his purpose. He learned to shift his focus from velocity and burndown charts to delivering value, and from being process-oriented to being people-oriented. This transformation led him to become more of a listener than a talker, embracing conflict as a natural part of growth.

Self-reflection Question: How might your current focus on processes or metrics be affecting your ability to connect with and serve your team members?

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About Anuj Ojha

Anuj is the co-founder & Lead Consultant at Benzne Consulting. With more than a decade of consulting experience & setting up Agile environments. Anuj and his team partner with businesses to unlock their true potential and drive continuous growth. Anuj considers himself framework agnostic, purpose & data driven.

You can link with Anuj Ojha on LinkedIn, or via his company’s website Next Agile.

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

Sofi Simonyan: Growing Healthy Agile Teams with a Simple Scrum Master Success Assessment

In this segment, Sofi highlights how important it is to pay attention to moments when team members independently adhere to agreements, prioritize customer needs, and suggest improvements. She shares a KPI framework developed to measure Scrum Master effectiveness through team feedback, emphasizing the value of transparency and personal development.

Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: The Speedcar Retrospective

Sofi’s favorite retrospective format, The Speedcar Retrospective (similar to the speedboat retro), uses a simple yet effective race car image to identify what slows the team down and what drives them forward. She emphasizes the importance of varying retro formats and adapting them to the team’s needs, making retrospectives engaging and insightful.

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About Sofi Simonyan

Sofi is a Scrum Master with 6 years of experience in tech startups and a diverse work background. Passionate about people, her mission is to build teams where active listening and growth mindset are essential values. Currently on maternity leave, Sofi practices agility in a completely different dimension.

You can link with Sofi Simonyan on LinkedIn and connect with Sofi Simonyan on Twitter.