Scrum isn't for stormtroopers

You hired smart people, so let them do their job.

When managers rely on command-and-control leadership instead of empowering the Scrum team to solve problems, they stifle creativity and limit the value the team can deliver.

Scrum is designed for complex environments: places where creativity, adaptation, and real-time problem-solving are essential to delivering value.

In that setting, leaders need to lead differently. Rather using the force (or velocity) to choke their underlings, leaders should:

• Empower Scrum team members

• Remove impediments

• Ensure the team has the resources it needs

• Promote role clarity

• Investing in the team’s growth and collaboration

  
  

This is where the distinction between true leadership and command-and-control becomes clear.

View leadership class schedule

Scrum teams should be self-managing

Self-management matters because we hire people for their skills. When teams lack freedom, such as when managers dictate task assignments or tightly control the problem-solving process, the value that they can deliver is limited.

Leaders should let go of their feelings about day-to-day task control. Let the Scrum team decide who will take each Product Backlog item. The team is in the battle every day and they understand the nuances of each choice. They know who needs to learn new parts of the system, or when the team needs to knock something out quickly. Because they are closest to the work, they are best positioned to solve their own problems. Instead of micromanaging, leaders should remove impediments, foster effective collaboration, and ensure the team has what it needs to deliver value.

You don't want stormtroopers

Stormtroopers follow orders. They execute exactly what they are told, without questioning or adapting. In complex product development, that way leads to the dark side.

Requirements shift, technical challenges emerge, and customer needs evolve. Teams need the freedom to make real-time decisions based on what they are learning.

You want Jedi

When leaders empower their teams, something powerful happens. The team solves problems faster. They take greater ownership of results. They surface issues earlier. And they deliver more valuable increments because they are free to apply their full expertise.

Self-management is not the absence of leadership. It is the presence of the right kind of leadership: the kind that trusts people to think, create, and deliver.

Join the Rebellion

Learn more about the leader's role in Scrum. Join us for the upcoming Professional Agile Leadership class with Rebel Scrum.

Stretch out your feelings and schedule a private Scrum training for your organization to unleash the power of Scrum.

Schedule Your Scrum Class