In practice, we teach that a Scrum Master’s responsibilities are to 1) enforce the process, 2) ensure full team participation, 3) support the Product Owner, 4) ensure the full functionality and productivity of the team, and 5) protect the team from outside interference. In reality, the lines between what the Scrum Master does and what the Scrum Team does becomes more and more difficult to clarify.
Physicians honor the Hippocratic oath, “Primum non nocere,” or “First, do no harm” (yes, there’s debate as to whether Hippocrates meant included this as a really important concept or even that he actually said this, but that’s beyond the scope of my point). The oath encourages physicians to always consider the health of the patient when making healthcare decisions. If the cure is worse than the disease, a physician might decide against the cure rather than hurting the patient.
I would suggest that there is a similar oath that a Scrum Master might take. Were I to put it into words, it might say the following:
“First, elevate the team.”
In other words, when considering any action, any decision that you make as a Scrum Master — consider first — are your actions going to improve the ability of your team to get the job done?
When you suggest the implementation of a new practice, does it help the team get work done? When you implement a new metric, did you ask for and receive clear guidance from management regarding how the metric would be used and how the team was going to benefit. When the organization implements a new tool, did you ask why the tool was better and how your team was going to benefit?
Everything you do, everything you say, every decision you make as a Scrum Master — you must make it considering how it impacts your team. And similarly, multiple valid choices should be weighed based on incurring the greatest value or the least waste relative to the Scrum Team.
Primum attollo populus
First, elevate the team.
