scrum master role - authority, power and leadership

Authority, Leadership and Power

Scrum Masters’ TalesIlan Kirschenbaum

Agile coach and co-founder @ practical-agiletwitter: @kirschi_

email: ilan@practical-agile.comblog: http://fostnope.com

Company site: www.practical-agile.com

Friday, December 28, 12

Extraordinary form of leadership

With what kind of authority?

David and Goliath

Osmar Schindler (1869-1927): David und Goliath, 1888Source: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goliath

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King David & Bathsheba

Disputed form of leadership with unquestionable

authority

Bathsheba in her bath- Pablo VeroneseSource: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathsheba

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David and Saul

Emerging leadership overthrowing authority

Julius Kronberg David och SaulSource: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul

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Three powerful forms of leadership

Three distinctively different types of authority

Three styles, one person in different roles

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•S/W Engineer•20 years in s/w (developer, architect, product manager and other roles)•Father•Agile coach•Blogger•Co-Founder at “Practical-Agile”•Co-Organizer of “Agile Practitioners IL” group

Who is Ilan?

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In Search of the Perfect Scrum Master

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbSpAsJSZPc

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Authority

LeadershipPower

Influence

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Authority

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Authority

Authority from above

Authority from within

Authority from below

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Authority from above

David, in David and Bathsheba

Permission given by legal right or by an organization or manager

This is what we usually mean when we say Authority

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Authority from within

David, in David and Goliath

The inner conviction to be able to perform a task

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Authority from below

David, in David and Saul

The permission given by subordinates and peers

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Power

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Power: The observation and manipulation of task, time, space & resources to influence others for action

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Power, Authority & Language

You must ...

You failed to do your task

I decided to ...

How about ...

We made a mistake

We need to decide

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Leadership

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Leadership

The ability to combine authority and power suitable for the situation in order to influence a group of people

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The Scrum Team

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The TeamDave Loper

Kew Aye

Dotty Net

Sam Moss

Where does the Scrum Master go?

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The Team

Dave LoperKew Aye Dotty Net

Sam Moss

Where does the Scrum Master go?

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The Team

Dave LoperKew Aye Dotty Net

Sam Moss

Where does the Scrum Master go?

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The Scrum Master operates in the boundary between

what’s in the team

what’s outside the team

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The scrum master protects the boundaries:

Task

Time

Space

Resources

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The scrum master protects the boundaries:

Task - backlog, DOD, priorities, ...

Time - ceremonies, sprint, ...

Space - ceremonies, team room, ...

Resources - members, systems, ...

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The Scrum Master protects the team

From the world outside

From itself

This, with respect to task, time, space, and resources

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Leadership Within Boundaries

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Miwb92eZaJg

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The boundaries are a range, not a thin line

Start from a familiar “ordered” system

Evolve to the complexity model

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Forming

Storm

ing

Nor

min

g

Performing

Tuckman’s model of team development

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Forming

Storm

ing

Nor

min

g

Performing

Tuckman’s model of team development

Educate on Scrum while

respecting existing process

Observe emerging

boundaries

Make sense of boundaries with

emerging norms

Maintain the complex system

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Forming

Storm

ing

Nor

min

g

Performing

Educate and use existing

process

Observe emerging

boundaries

Make sense of boundaries with

emerging norms

Maintain the complex system

Leadership through Authority and Power

Bel

ow

Wit

hin

Abo

ve

Authority

Pow

er

Bel

ow

Wit

hin

Abo

ve

Authority

Pow

er

Bel

ow

Wit

hin

Abo

ve

Authority

Pow

er

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Dave Loper is an experienced Java developer. Since starting Scrum he feels he is working too hard; the other team members are not up to scratch; there are too many meetings

Kew Aye is a tester in the same team. Since starting Scrum she feels she lost the big picture; she is way too busy towards end of sprint; her opinion is not heard

What should Sam Moss, the SM, do?

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The Scrum Team, Continued

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The Team

Dave LoperKew Aye Dotty Net

Where does the Product Owner go?Sam Moss

Pete Owen

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The Team

Dave LoperKew Aye Dotty Net

Where does the Product Owner go?Sam Moss

Pete Owen

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The Product Owner also operates in the boundary between

what’s in the team

what’s outside the team

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The Product Owner defines the boundaries of the task

What do to (user stories)

When to do it (priorities)

How to validate it (Acceptance Criteria, DoD)

How to react to changes (Grooming)

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The Scrum Master and Product Owner mutually work on

What to do

How to do it

Reacting to emerging changes on task, time, space & resources

Who does what

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A good Product Owner

exercises mostly Authority From Within - through unique knowledge

Builds authority from below

exercises power by making tough decisions on scope (task)

Bel

ow

Wit

hin

Abo

ve

Authority

Pow

er

Friday, December 28, 12

Pete Owen is a veteran Product Manager. Since moving to Scrum he is overburdened with team meetings, and has little time to do his ‘real’ work.

Sam Moss, the Scrum Master, asked Pete to meet daily 5 minutes before the Daily Stand-up to focus on the #1 priority for the day.

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Dilemmas of Becoming a Scrum Team

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The Team

Dave LoperKew Aye Dotty Net

Where does the Team Leader go?Sam Moss

Pete Owen

Terry Lopez

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The Team

Dave LoperKew Aye Dotty Net

Where does the Team Leader go?Sam Moss

Pete Owen

Terry Lopez

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The TeamNow there are two teams

Dave LoperKew Aye Dotty Net

Sam Moss

Pete Owen

Terry Lopez

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Two’s company, Three’s a crowd

The team beyond the development team needs to manage its own boundaries

Build mechanism to influence task, time, space and resources

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This management team deals with:

Task: Coding standards; Vacations; Upper management requirements

Time: Its own regular and irregular meetings

Space: Sitting arrangements (PO, SM, TL); Meeting place

Resources: Dev team; systems; ...

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Example for possible mechanisms

(PO, SM, TL) retrospect regularly

(PO, SM, TL) meet daily, just before/after the dev-team standup

Phase out the TL role

Reshuffle the teams

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Managing boundaries (and not people) requires a different type of leadership

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This kind of leadership assumes

Develop authority from within

Encourage authority from below

Dampen authority from above

Observe sources of power, and adjust to this framework

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It’s like moving to a new country, where you don’t know the language and culture.

Known assumptions may appear inadequate

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http://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_weird_or_just_different.html

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Good Scrum Masters

Lead the team to become self managed, accountable and productive.

Inspire the Scrum team to live by the Agile values and principles, and the Scrum framework.

Servant, will do whatever is needed to

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Q&A

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Thank you

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References:Authority, power and leadership. Anton Obholzer, The Unconscious At Work, Routledge 1994, ISBN 0-415-10206The organization of work. Vega Zagier Roberts, The Unconscious At Work, Routledge 1994, ISBN 0-415-10206http://www.ofek-groups.org/index.php? הרהורים בנושא גבולות - תיאוריה ויישומה, תיאוריה ויישומה. גבי בונויט

option=com_content&task=view&id=41&Itemid=65The Official SCRUM Rulebook, Ken Schwaber & Jeff Sutherland http://www.scrum.org/Scrum-GuidesBruce Tuckman, Tuckman’s stages of group development http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuckman's_stages_of_group_developmentVideos:Reebok Terry Tate Commercial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbSpAsJSZPcDave Snowden, How to organise a children’s party http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Miwb92eZaJgDerek Sivers, weird or just different, http://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_weird_or_just_different.htmlImages:Osmar Schindler (1869-1927): David und Goliath, 1888, Source: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GoliathBathsheba in her bath- Pablo Veronese, Source: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BathshebaJulius Kronberg David och Saul, Source: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul

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