Let me guess what brought you here, you’ve been asked to become a Scrum Master? And maybe you’re currently a Project Manager in a similar role, and feeling all sorts of anxiety and uncertainty about entering a new domain.

Do not despair, I was there too and I too felt all those fuzzy feelings you are probably feeling right now.  When I am having conversations with people new to this process, I first and foremost describe Agile accountability and role of the Scrum Master.  

When I begin to explain the role of a Scrum Master, trainees often identify that a lot of the responsibilities and tasks associated with the Scrum Master are quite similar to that of a Project Manager. And as much as this is true, I am here to tell you that they are not the same. Not entirely at least.

The key difference is situated in the thinking, as Scrum Masters think in a more Agile way and have steered away from traditional Project Management. Scrum Mastery requires a completely new way of working and thinking about how to manage projects, work processes and goal setting.

Scrum Masters Remove Problems and Facilitate Improvements

As a Scrum Master, if you are not removing problems, you are not doing your job correctly. Being an effective Scrum Master is all about assessing and identifying problems, and finding the most time-efficient and resource sensitive way to maximise product and organisational value.

Project Managers strive to do the same but it is quite often that in traditional project management, Project Managers will take on all the responsibility and delegate tasks to the team without much room for feedback and collaboration.

In Agile ways of working, Scrum Masters not only handle problems but also support and facilitate others taking action and implementing change. What you are ultimately trying to do as a Scrum Master is enable others to succeed by ensuring that the environment and available resources is conducive for positive change and outcome.

So instead of you doing everything and taking care of problem-solving all by yourself, you as the Scrum Master are setting up your team so that they can perform tasks in your absence. So ultimately, you are like an invisible presence that flows through everything that is done in a Scrum. At first this can be a difficult task and work environment, but with continual efforts aimed at integration, innovation, and collaboration, I can assure you that your team will become asynchronous in no time!  

But the Million Dollar Question: Is It Difficult to Transition from a Project Manager to a Scrum Master?

My answer to this question is that transitions are only as difficult as you make it. And what I mean when I say this is that if you put in a genuine effort towards understanding the world of Scrum, like reading the Scrum Guide, and taking notes from experts, I think that you will have a fairly easy time transitioning.

I will however say that one of the most challenging aspects of the transition is working with short-term goals rather than long-term ones.

Since a lot of Agile and Scrum involves working in short bursts and in Increments, and thus requires individuals to be time-organised, focused, and responsive to rapid change.   If you think you are up for the challenge, I sincerely recommend coming on board. You won’t regret it!  

Get in touch today and let’s work together on your journey to success!  

Pragmatic Shift is a Scrum Training, Agile Consulting, and Agile Coaching consultancy that specialises in delivering Scrum.Org certified scrum courses, and helping organisations increase their business agility and product development success through agile consulting and coaching.  

We firmly believe that a shift to agile is a pragmatic shift. A natural evolution from traditional project management and product management. A proven, reliable, and resilient framework for addressing compelling problems and developing complex solutions.  

Over a decade’s worth of experience as an agile practitioner, agile consultant, agile coach, and scrum trainer informs our pragmatic approach to change. Agile dogma has no value in the context of product development or organisational change.  

Instead, we look to start where you are, work with what you have, and make meaningful interventions that align with the objectives you are trying to achieve.   Progress over perfection.   If this sounds like a pragmatic solution to you, visit the following pages for more information.  

Scrum Training: https://pragmaticshift.com/training/  

Agile Consulting: Coming Soon!  

Agile Coaching: https://www.thescrumcoach.uk  

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