Reflecting Upon a Turning Point.

My Philosopher's journey continues

This week marks a bit of a turning point for me.  I have been part of R.R. Donnelley for three years.  This week as part of a complicated stock split, I am joining LSC Communications.  I am excited like a child going to a new school but I am also a bit scared by the unknown.  This week, I want to reflect on my agile journey and where it is taking me.

Three years, I left a consumer foods company as a programmer to become an architect.  My credentials as a scrum master gave me a leg up from the other candidates.  Quickly, I noticed that my new leadership had other plans for me.  Soon, I was leading a team of developers as a scrum master.  I was certain that change would come quickly and that the team would be kicking butt and taking names.  I was wrong.

I had to drop a few authoritarian traits I had picked up over the years.  I had to read numerous pieces of literature helping me expand my knowledge about agile and scrum.  I spent plenty of late nights working with the developers fixing bugs.  Finally, I had to confront the reality that I did not have all the answers.  It was humbling and a necessary experience.

Today, I am a few years older and wiser.  I am a much better scrum master than I was three years ago. Joining LSC Communications, I will not only be a scrum master but also coach for other teams in the organization.  It should be a valuable experience.

The philosopher Heraclitus said we could never set foot in the same river twice.  As I am about to cross over into another unexplored territory, I can say that I am not the same scrum master I was three years ago and I am ready for the challenge ahead of me.

Until next time.