☝🏼1 tip I would give someone who wanted to start working as a Scrum Master

I have been working for 10 years now as an SM/Agile Coach. I started in this role in Allegro (the biggest e-commerce in Central Europe), surrounded by 24 great humans carrying the same role 🫰🏼

So, here's the 1 tip I would give you if you wanted to pursue a similar career path:

👤 Don’t do it alone

It's easy and expected to make mistakes as a newbie Scrum Master. Yet without proper guidance, get ready for a bitter road ahead. 

You might:

• discourage the team from working with you

• create more mess than help

• follow the literature too directly

• evangelise instead of listening

• fix things that are not important

• neglect working with the organisation

• become a smart ass or too fearful

🙌 Where to find help? 

#1 Start in a company that has more experienced Scrum Masters than you

• Propose a 15 min daily to unload concerns or ask for advice at the end of the day.

• Shadow them, be shadowed, debrief and ask questions. Read more👇🏼

Marcin Konkel @m_konkel

☝🏼 practice that helped me learn a ton in a #ScrumMaster/#AgileCoach role. Like most beginners, I made many mistakes when I started working as a Scrum Master almost ten years ago. One of the most significant learning opportunities for me was shadowing. Let me elaborate 🙌 #agile

• Work in pairs on company-wide impediments or improvements. 

• Learn a small piece of knowledge and teach it to others.

• Be transparent with your work - feedback will nudge you where people need you the most.

I did all of the above. It will skyrocket your growth 🚀

#2 Start a mentoring relationship

This one is tricky. It might be best to start with a few consultations with different people and then, perhaps, jump into mentoring. 

Why? Read more 👇🏼

Marcin Konkel @m_konkel

If I could go back in time, these are the 4 things I wish I knew about finding a mentor. (It would have saved me and my mentor a lot of wasted time and effort.) #mentorship #mentoring #selfdevelopment #work #career

#3 Attend communities of practice that don't talk jibberish

• Look for those who don't give you simple answers, share real case studies, and gather curious, open, respectful and kind people.

• Ask questions if something sounds too good to be true.

• Avoid cocky people.

#4 See what skills you already have that will be useful in this role

A common misconception in many companies is that you don't have any skills when you didn't carry the title. 

This is a terrible way to think.

Reach out to an SM/AC you follow and ask for advice on the subject.

🎁BONUS

Don't try to be smart, be useful and respectful to others.

+

Walk your talk.

This has mindset enabled me to learn from individuals and teams.

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