We all have been well versed with the role of a Scrum master. The servant leader of the team, the person who shields the team from unwanted distractions, the person who helps with unblocking the work. There are many certification programs today in the market for scrum masters.

But what is this role, other than running ceremonies and maybe moving JIRA cards, what else is the role there for? This is something most of the organisations are asking today, as they see this role an extension to project management, albeit at team level. Sometimes Scrum masters are given more than one team to manage.

What are they managing though? Financials, reporting, governance, people, releases…. The list goes on and on. Having a project manager in disguise of a Scrum master, doesn’t make a company Agile. If anything, this is a far cry from Agile.

Hence, we think the role of a Scrum Master is almost redundant. They are Team Agile Coaches.

The most effective scrum masters are those, who are able to unlock the true potential of team, make them come together and expediate the process of forming, storming, norming and performing.

They are very close to the team and are invested in their success, they help the teams navigate through the discovery journey of bonding. Small examples like setting up social contracts, creating and agreeing to team norms, go a long way in bringing the team.

Team coaches are the neutral entities who are always observing and when needed coaching individually to understand certain behaviours.

For ceremonies to run, it shouldn’t be always Scrum Master responsible, anyone in the team can pick up this activity. The responsibility can be rotated among team members by sprints or by quarter. This way, each team member understands the importance of each of the scrum events and the value add it does to the sprint goals

So, why hire a scrum master you may ask?

You shouldn’t. Don’t hire a scrum master but hire a team coach who has experience of scrum and can-do scrum master activities. When the teams are newly formed, its always good for someone to role model how the ceremonies should be run, what are the best practices. However, it should have a defined date on it, else that’s all the person ends up doing.

If you have different views or agree with us, do leave us a comment!