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Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile storytelling from the trenches

Every week day, Certified Scrum Master, Agile Coach and Business Consultant Vasco Duarte interviews Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches from all over the world to get you actionable advice, new tips and tricks, improve your craft as a Scrum Master with daily doses of inspiring conversations with Scrum Masters from the all over the world. Stay tuned for BONUS episodes when we interview Agile gurus and other thought leaders in the business space to bring you the Agile Business perspective you need to succeed as a Scrum Master. Some of the topics we discuss include: Agile Business, Agile Strategy, Retrospectives, Team motivation, Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, Backlog Refinement, Scaling Scrum, Lean Startup, Test Driven Development (TDD), Behavior Driven Development (BDD), Paper Prototyping, QA in Scrum, the role of agile managers, servant leadership, agile coaching, and more!
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Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile storytelling from the trenches
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Aug 21, 2020

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website.

From estimation to Vision, the contrasting performance of PO’s that focus on those two different items in their work.

The Great Product Owner: The PO that lives and breathes Product Vision

As Sjoerd describes it, the great PO lives and breathes the Product Vision. With that Product Vision in mind, the PO is able to make decisions as the product emerges thanks to the actions by the team. In this segment, we also talk about how Roadmaps can sometimes negatively impact the team’s ability to execute and the PO’s ability to make decisions.

In this segment, we refer to the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast episodes with Maarten Dalmijn.

The Bad Product Owner: The Estimation-driven PO

PO’s that focus on estimation, are often trying to cover their own backs and managing expectations with stakeholders at the expense of the Scrum team’s work. In this segment, we also talk about how the estimation focus by PO’s is more of a “scarcity mindset” perspective that drives teams to be afraid and always lacking in time to do the right things. 

For more on how to work without estimates as a Product Owner, check out the NoEstimates Book.

 

Are you having trouble helping the team working well with their Product Owner? We’ve put together a course to help you work on the collaboration team-product owner. You can find it at: bit.ly/coachyourpo. 18 modules, 8+ hours of modules with tools and techniques that you can use to help teams and PO’s collaborate.

 

About Sjoerd Nijland

Sjoerd is a founder of Serious Scrum, and creator of the Road to Mastery co-creative online training. Previously E-commerce manager at Bugaboo, and then Manager of Operations at Digital Agency Triggerfish.

You can link with Sjoerd Nijland on LinkedIn and connect with Sjoerd Nijland on Twitter.

Aug 20, 2020

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website.

We start the success discussion with a poem by Kipling: “If”. We then discuss what is the real motivation Scrum Masters have to look at their success in the role. Sjoerd explains what is critical for him in that role, and the mindset that helps him when working with teams.

Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: The SWOT Canvas

The SWOT canvas is a technique that helps teams reflect on what are the aspects they can build on (strengths), what they need to either avoid or fix (weaknesses), what are the aspects they can take advantage of (opportunities) and finally what are the dark clouds that threaten their ability to execute (threats). In this segment, we also discuss how that same canvas can be used in the context of product, organization, individual or even product increment to help the team reflect and evolve.

 

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 experiences: 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 Sjoerd Nijland

Sjoerd is a founder of Serious Scrum, and creator of the Road to Mastery co-creative online training. Previously E-commerce manager at Bugaboo, and then Manager of Operations at Digital Agency Triggerfish.

You can link with Sjoerd Nijland on LinkedIn and connect with Sjoerd Nijland on Twitter.

Aug 19, 2020

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website.

As this story starts, Sjoerd had just joined a team that was helping an organization move from Waterfall to Scrum. The team decided to start with a large training effort and applied the “training from the back of the room” ideas. This is an approach that tries to maximize the learning in a classroom training setting, but also has critical insights for the role of the Scrum Master as a facilitator. 

But the transformation did not stop there, there were many other activities and approaches that Sjoerd and team used in that process. Listen in to learn the most important ones, and the critical lessons Sjoerd learned from that process.

 

About Sjoerd Nijland

Sjoerd is a founder of Serious Scrum, and creator of the Road to Mastery co-creative online training. Previously E-commerce manager at Bugaboo, and then Manager of Operations at Digital Agency Triggerfish.

You can link with Sjoerd Nijland on LinkedIn and connect with Sjoerd Nijland on Twitter.

Aug 18, 2020

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website.

In this organization, each developer was assigned an application or component. The catch? Each of those applications was critical for the company’s business. Soon enough, this became a problem. Sjoerd shares with us how he tried to help this company eliminate their “bus factor”, and the important lessons he learned about how not to do it.

Featured Book of the Week: The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle

In The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle, Sjoerd learned how important non-work related aspects are for forming a great team. The book shares what are the aspects that are associated with great teams, and highlights how culture and team-culture are critical for the success of a team.

 

About Sjoerd Nijland

Sjoerd is a founder of Serious Scrum, and creator of the Road to Mastery co-creative online training. Previously E-commerce manager at Bugaboo, and then Manager of Operations at Digital Agency Triggerfish.

You can link with Sjoerd Nijland on LinkedIn and connect with Sjoerd Nijland on Twitter.

Aug 17, 2020

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website.

Sometimes companies want to adopt Scrum, only to disguise their Project Management traditional ways of managing. In this episode, we talk about a company that had hired Scrum Masters but really wanted them to act as Project Managers. We then discuss how Scrum Masters can work with Project Managers to change their perspective by showing how to create value in a very short time. This can be a transformational moment for your company and your Project Manager.

 

About Sjoerd Nijland

Sjoerd is a founder of Serious Scrum, and creator of the Road to Mastery co-creative online training. Previously E-commerce manager at Bugaboo, and then Manager of Operations at Digital Agency Triggerfish.

You can link with Sjoerd Nijland on LinkedIn and connect with Sjoerd Nijland on Twitter.

Aug 14, 2020

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website.

From the control-minded PO to the PO that wanted to learn and co-create with the team. This week’s PO patterns enlighten the need for focusing on the relationship building between the PO and the team, and the PO and the Scrum Master.

The Great Product Owner: The PO that wanted to run experiments

Great PO’s come in many shapes and forms, in this episode, we talk about the great PO that wanted to run experiments, to learn what worked in practice. We also talk about the importance of the relationship between Scrum Master and PO, and how that partnership can drive the success of the PO and the team.

The Bad Product Owner: The Control Freak

There are many reasons why the PO’s may not be able to perform as needed in a Scrum environment. However, the toughest reasons or root causes for that lack of performance are often tied to the PO’s own personality. In this segment, we talk about the reasons why some PO’s can’t give up control, and how that search for control directly affects the team’s ability to perform.

 

Are you having trouble helping the team working well with their Product Owner? We’ve put together a course to help you work on the collaboration team-product owner. You can find it at: bit.ly/coachyourpo. 18 modules, 8+ hours of modules with tools and techniques that you can use to help teams and PO’s collaborate.

 

About Oskar Collin

Oskar is a former software developer who became a passionate agile coach and Scrum master. He did so mainly because he was better at helping teams working together than building software. He loves experiments and questioning the status quo. He is passionate about helping teams build digital products and deliver value continuously. 

You can link with Oskar Collin on LinkedIn and connect with Oskar Collin on Twitter.

Aug 13, 2020

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website.

 

As Scrum Masters, having a clear definition of success is critical for us to be able to do our own self-reflection and learn how to improve our impact in the team and the organization we work with. In this episode, we talk about what that looks like, and how most of the success signs for Scrum Masters have to do with behaviors, and actions by the team, and not the Scrum Masters themselves. 

Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: The WADE Matrix

Oskar describes the WADE matrix format as a retrospective exercise. How to apply it, the main steps, and why it is a great method to have the team discuss and decide what they can affect. In the end of this segment, Oskar shares a great tip on how to help teams get value out of the Agile retrospective.

 

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 experiences: 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 Oskar Collin

Oskar is a former software developer who became a passionate agile coach and Scrum master. He did so mainly because he was better at helping teams working together than building software. He loves experiments and questioning the status quo. He is passionate about helping teams build digital products and deliver value continuously. 

You can link with Oskar Collin on LinkedIn and connect with Oskar Collin on Twitter.

Aug 12, 2020

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website.

 

Many Scrum Masters are part of, or even responsible for organizing an Agile adoption process in their companies. In this episode, we discuss what such a plan could look like based on a successful Agile adoption process Oskar was a part of.

In this episode, we refer to the Get Kanban game and Modern Agile, a new take on the original manifesto.

 

About Oskar Collin

Oskar is a former software developer who became a passionate agile coach and Scrum master. He did so mainly because he was better at helping teams working together than building software. He loves experiments and questioning the status quo. He is passionate about helping teams build digital products and deliver value continuously. 

You can link with Oskar Collin on LinkedIn and connect with Oskar Collin on Twitter.

Aug 11, 2020

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website.

 

A team Oskar worked with, was complaining about the meetings and wanted to stop some of those. Over time, the team members started not showing up, or showing up and not participating actively in the meeting. As the team was delivering, no one else saw this was a problem, but Oskar knew that this was not a team, it was just a group of individuals. In this episode, we talk about how to motivate a team and the importance of having a Vision that brings the team members together. 

In this segment, we refer to the FREE Create A Compelling Product Vision e-course

Featured Book of the Week: Accelerate by Nicole Forsgren

In Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations by Nicole Forsgren, Oskar found a book that helped him explain the Agile mindset to technical people. He also understood the role of DevOps in an Agile organization. The biggest takeaway? Listen in to learn what was Oskar’s biggest takeaway.

In this segment, we also talk about the #NoEstimates book, and how that influenced Oskar’s career. 

 

About Oskar Collin

Oskar is a former software developer who became a passionate agile coach and Scrum master. He did so mainly because he was better at helping teams working together than building software. He loves experiments and questioning the status quo. He is passionate about helping teams build digital products and deliver value continuously. 

You can link with Oskar Collin on LinkedIn and connect with Oskar Collin on Twitter.

Aug 10, 2020

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website.

 

As Scrum Masters, we often want to help the PO, or other stakeholders that ask us questions. This wish to please can sometimes lead to the Scrum Master becoming a “status chaser” for the remote or otherwise absent stakeholder. In this episode, we talk about the dangers of becoming a “status chaser” as a Scrum Master, and how to help the team take ownership of the communication with the PO.

 

About Oskar Collin

Oskar is a former software developer who became a passionate agile coach and Scrum master. He did so mainly because he was better at helping teams working together than building software. He loves experiments and questioning the status quo. He is passionate about helping teams build digital products and deliver value continuously. 

You can link with Oskar Collin on LinkedIn and connect with Oskar Collin on Twitter.

Aug 7, 2020

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website.

Working with the team, in the right way, is critical for the PO to succeed, so we explore what a great PO would do differently, and what are some of the anti-patterns we should be looking out for.

The Great Product Owner: The PO that engaged the Scrum Team

When the PO listens to the team, and works every day to help solve some of the blockers that that team is facing is on the path to being a great PO. But the key is when the PO is present with the team, not only to listen but to understand how to help the team succeed. When this happens, the PO is contributing to the team feeling engaged and passionate about their work!

The Bad Product Owner: The “New day, new priority” PO

In this segment, we discuss several anti-patterns to be on the look-out for. We talk about the PO that wants too much technical detail, and the constant change in priorities that sometimes comes from the Product Owner. 

Finally, we talk about decision making, and how important it is to have a PO that can bring the right people into a meeting to make quick decisions.

 

[IMAGE HERE]Are you having trouble helping the team working well with their Product Owner? We’ve put together a course to help you work on the collaboration team-product owner. You can find it at: bit.ly/coachyourpo. 18 modules, 8+ hours of modules with tools and techniques that you can use to help teams and PO’s collaborate.

 

About Stefania Marinelli

Stefania is an Agile Manager @Hotels.com (Expedia group) former Scrum Master, former team leader/project manager, former developer. Stefania is fascinated by people dynamics and works every day to create a collaborative and safe environment. NVC practitioner.

You can link with Stefania Marinelli on LinkedIn and connect with Stefania Marinelli on Twitter.

Aug 6, 2020

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website.

Stefania highlights some aspects for the team’s success, from helping teams self-organize to being the trainer, or educator at the company where we work. Related to these aspects, we talk about possible questions to ask ourselves when reflecting on our success in the Scrum Master role. 

Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: Turn the Table

Turn the table, is the format that Stefania explains in this segment. The focus of that format is on communication and empathy between team members. 

In this segment, we also refer to the “Dixit” board game. 

 

[IMAGE HERE] 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 experiences: 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 Stefania Marinelli

Stefania is an Agile Manager @Hotels.com (Expedia group) former Scrum Master, former team leader/project manager, former developer. Stefania is fascinated by people dynamics and works every day to create a collaborative and safe environment. NVC practitioner.

You can link with Stefania Marinelli on LinkedIn and connect with Stefania Marinelli on Twitter.

Aug 5, 2020

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website.

Adopting Scrum is, in reality, adopting a change management process. Stefania noticed that when she started helping a team deal with urgent problems, which led to creating a board to visualize the work in progress. In this episode, we talk about how Scrum was used as a change process, and how the team benefited from Scrum, and the visualization techniques to manage their work.

 

About Stefania Marinelli

Stefania is an Agile Manager @Hotels.com (Expedia group) former Scrum Master, former team leader/project manager, former developer. Stefania is fascinated by people dynamics and works every day to create a collaborative and safe environment. NVC practitioner.

You can link with Stefania Marinelli on LinkedIn and connect with Stefania Marinelli on Twitter.

Aug 4, 2020

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website.

One of the worst anti-patterns to deal with as a Scrum Master is the disengaged team. And there are many possible reasons for that anti-pattern. One example is when a team is not allowed space for learning, and necessarily failing some times. Or if the team members are mostly introverts, and there’s no space for them to express their contribution. 

Scrum Masters must learn to create space for those team members to express themselves and help the team. 

In this episode, we talk about the book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, by Susan Cain. This booked helped Stefania learn how to deal with, and help the quietest team members.

Featured Book of the Week: Agile Estimating and Planning by Mike Cohn

Each Scrum Master journey is a path, and each step has a different focus and a different book that makes an impact. Stefania shares how Agile Estimating and Planning by Mike Cohn was one of those books, and how later she discovered and learned from the NoEstimates book when she was in a different phase of her journey.

 

About Stefania Marinelli

Stefania is an Agile Manager @Hotels.com (Expedia group) former Scrum Master, former team leader/project manager, former developer. Stefania is fascinated by people dynamics and works every day to create a collaborative and safe environment. NVC practitioner.

You can link with Stefania Marinelli on LinkedIn and connect with Stefania Marinelli on Twitter.

Aug 3, 2020

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website.

Growing teams over time mean that we help them find their path to ownership and self-organization. In this episode, we talk about creating a roadmap to self-organization, and helping teams take steps towards owning their work, and putting self-organization in practice.

 

About Stefania Marinelli

Stefania is an Agile Manager @Hotels.com (Expedia group) former Scrum Master, former team leader/project manager, former developer. Stefania is fascinated by people dynamics and works every day to create a collaborative and safe environment. NVC practitioner.

You can link with Stefania Marinelli on LinkedIn and connect with Stefania Marinelli on Twitter.

Aug 1, 2020

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website.

 

About David Pereira

David is a passionate Product Owner who loves leading teams in building solutions that challenge the status quo.

He’s also written a free ebook on the top 7 mistakes of a product owner which you can get at https://bit.ly/po7mistakes

You can follow David Pereira on Medium, and connect with David Pereira on LinkedIn.

 

Jul 31, 2020

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website.

 

Feeling ownership of the product, and performing like an owner is one that really differentiates great PO’s from the rest. We also discuss what happens when the PO takes their role as a part-time job

The Great Product Owner: The impact of feeling the ownership of the Product

Although the clue is in the name, the fact is that many Product Owners miss the impact of that ownership perspective on the role. In this segment, we discuss what Ownership means for the PO role and the impact that it can have in the team when the PO expresses that feeling of ownership.

The Bad Product Owner: The part-time Product Owner

The PO role is not a part-time role. However, some people tend to think that it is possible to perform that role successfully while also being a leader of a department or organization. In this segment, we discuss the anti-patterns that emerge when the PO role is taken as a part-time job. We also discuss some of the ways in which the Scrum Master can help the PO realize the impact they have on the team when they are not available full-time.

 

Are you having trouble helping the team working well with their Product Owner? We’ve put together a course to help you work on the collaboration team-product owner. You can find it at: bit.ly/coachyourpo. 18 modules, 8+ hours of modules with tools and techniques that you can use to help teams and PO’s collaborate.

 

About Anubhuti Agarwal

Anu is a software tester turned Scrum master. She worked as Software QA in India for 6 years and then moved to Berlin to complete her Masters in Business Administration. She has been working as a Scrum Master for 3 years in an agency and has learned, first hand, the challenges of working with Agile in an agency.

You can link with Anubhuti Agarwal on LinkedIn.

Jul 30, 2020

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website.

 

What distinguishes a successful Scrum Master from a not so successful one? In this segment, we explore the questions that Anu asks as well as the behaviors she evaluates to assess her progress in the Scrum Master role.

Featured Retrospective of the Week: Facilitating product conversations

In this segment, Anu shares her tips on how to select the right format for the retrospective based on what has happened to the team during the Sprint. We talk about why certain formats work better and discuss the core role of the Scrum Master when it comes to facilitating a retrospective: facilitate productive conversations.

 

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 experiences: 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 Anubhuti Agarwal

Anu is a software tester turned Scrum master. She worked as Software QA in India for 6 years and then moved to Berlin to complete her Masters in Business Administration. She has been working as a Scrum Master for 3 years in an agency and has learned, first hand, the challenges of working with Agile in an agency.

You can link with Anubhuti Agarwal on LinkedIn.

Jul 29, 2020

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website.

 

Remote teams often deal with timezone problems. In this episode, we explore the story of a distributed team that needed to change their way of working to accommodate the different timezones. We discuss some of the techniques you can use to help your distributed team make decisions and adapt their way of working to the reality of distributed work, and wildly different timezones.

 

About Anubhuti Agarwal

Anu is a software tester turned Scrum master. She worked as Software QA in India for 6 years and then moved to Berlin to complete her Masters in Business Administration. She has been working as a Scrum Master for 3 years in an agency and has learned, first hand, the challenges of working with Agile in an agency.

You can link with Anubhuti Agarwal on LinkedIn.

Jul 28, 2020

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website.

 

Sometimes, when team members leave the team, the ones that stay behind have a lot to deal with. The uncertainty caused by team members that leave can lead to negative anti-patterns. In this episode, we discuss some of the actions Scrum Masters can take to take care of the team, even when some of the team members are leaving.

Featured Book of the Week: Crucial Conversations by Patterson et al.

In Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High by Patterson et al., Anu found a book about a critical skill set for Scrum Masters. Anu also shares a concrete example of how she applied the learnings from that book in a tough situation.

 

About Anubhuti Agarwal

Anu is a software tester turned Scrum master. She worked as Software QA in India for 6 years and then moved to Berlin to complete her Masters in Business Administration. She has been working as a Scrum Master for 3 years in an agency and has learned, first hand, the challenges of working with Agile in an agency.

You can link with Anubhuti Agarwal on LinkedIn.

Jul 27, 2020

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website.

 

When we enter a new organization as consultants or employees, how do we get a new team started? In this episode, we explore the difficult task of the Scrum Master as a team builder and catalyst. 

 

About Anubhuti Agarwal

Anu is a software tester turned Scrum master. She worked as Software QA in India for 6 years and then moved to Berlin to complete her Masters in Business Administration. She has been working as a Scrum Master for 3 years in an agency and has learned, first hand, the challenges of working with Agile in an agency.

You can link with Anubhuti Agarwal on LinkedIn.

Jul 24, 2020

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website.

Great Product Owners can tell stories, and motivate the team. They focus on the Vision and the “why” questions. In contrast, the anti-pattern we discuss in this episode is that of the command and control PO, who wants to know who’s working on what, and how they are doing it.

The Great Product Owner: The Great Storyteller

Thomas shares with us what a great storyteller Product Owner looks like. We discuss the impact of storytelling, and the need for the PO to be constantly learning so they can bring the right information and answer the team’s questions.

The Bad Product Owner: Coaching the PO together with the Scrum team

What should a PO focus on? In this segment, we discuss how the command-and-control PO’s focus on the wrong topics, and miss the most important aspects of their work. We also discuss how to encourage the team members to help coach the PO towards the most effective behaviors and actions.

 

Are you having trouble helping the team working well with their Product Owner? We’ve put together a course to help you work on the collaboration team-product owner. You can find it at: bit.ly/coachyourpo. 18 modules, 8+ hours of modules with tools and techniques that you can use to help teams and PO’s collaborate.

 

About Thomas Kofoed

Passionate Agile Coach / Scrum Master. Thomas focuses on engaging people while helping organizations and teams evolve their products guided by the feedback from their customers/users. 

Thomas switches between Facilitation Coaching and Teaching (sometimes Mentoring). He's open about his purpose and that he strives to get his teams to where they don't need him but might miss him :-) 

You can link with Thomas Kofoed on LinkedIn.

Jul 23, 2020

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website.

When Scrum Masters reach a successful state with the team, they will feel confident to skip a few events with the team. That’s a good way to help the team take more ownership of the events, and eventually take over. 

Thomas shares is recipe to “step back” from the work with the team, and let them take over.

Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: Structuring an adaptable retrospective

Thomas asks us to consider the retrospective as an adaptable practice which is flexible to the needs of the team at a certain time. He’s asking us to have a structured approach (a “box”) to which we bring many different exercises and activities to help the team reach their breakthroughs. 

In this segment, we refer to the Toyota Kata format.

 

About Thomas Kofoed

Passionate Agile Coach / Scrum Master. Thomas focuses on engaging people while helping organizations and teams evolve their products guided by the feedback from their customers/users. 

Thomas switches between Facilitation Coaching and Teaching (sometimes Mentoring). He's open about his purpose and that he strives to get his teams to where they don't need him but might miss him :-) 

You can link with Thomas Kofoed on LinkedIn.

Jul 22, 2020

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website.

When a Scrum Master gets hired or called into a team there might be mixed expectations between managers, team, and yourself, the Scrum Master. How can we prepare for that possible problem? 

In this episode, we discuss the setting of expectations and the early agreements we need to establish when starting to work with a new team.

 

About Thomas Kofoed

Passionate Agile Coach / Scrum Master. Thomas focuses on engaging people while helping organizations and teams evolve their products guided by the feedback from their customers/users. 

Thomas switches between Facilitation Coaching and Teaching (sometimes Mentoring). He's open about his purpose and that he strives to get his teams to where they don't need him but might miss him :-) 

You can link with Thomas Kofoed on LinkedIn.

Jul 21, 2020

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website.

When we start out as a Scrum Master we might not yet be able to detect the anti-patterns that may develop in teams. That lack of experience can turn against us. One anti-pattern that emerges over and over again is that of the “hero”. In this episode, we explore what leads people to assume the “hero” role and how that negatively affects the team. 

In this episode, we refer to the graphic novel series Asterix and Obelix

Featured Book of the Week: Scrum Mastery by Geoff Watts

In Scrum Mastery: From Good To Great Servant-Leadership by Geoff Watts, found many good stories and examples that make a difference between “good enough”, and “really great” Scrum Masters. The book does this via many short stories that illustrate the differences. 

In this segment, we also refer to The Scrum Guide as well as Gunther’s Scrum - A Pocket Guide. 

Both Geoff Watts and Gunther Verheyen have been previous guests on the podcast. 

 

About Thomas Kofoed

Passionate Agile Coach / Scrum Master. Thomas focuses on engaging people while helping organizations and teams evolve their products guided by the feedback from their customers/users. 

Thomas switches between Facilitation Coaching and Teaching (sometimes Mentoring). He's open about his purpose and that he strives to get his teams to where they don't need him but might miss him :-) 

You can link with Thomas Kofoed on LinkedIn

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