Be an Example for Your Scrum Team

Leading by example is a key tool.

It takes hard work and commitment to become a leader.  You spend years learning to master your craft and developing the credibility you need to influence others.  Once you have reached that level of skill, you are in charge of a bunch of people, and management expects results.  Here is where the leadership gets tricky; you often do not have a clue how to motivate a group of strangers into delivering the results desired.  It is time to discuss that challenge.  

When I join a new organization or client, I want to promote the five values of scrum; openness, focus, commitment, respect, and courage.  It amazes me how many corporate cultures discourage these traits in their people.  Often individuals have worked in environments which promote orthodoxy, compliance, and obedience.  We teach people to do things the company way, and if they cannot, they leave.  Conditioning like this over the years is hard to overcome.  What helps breakthrough is to practice the skills you want others to copy.  

I want people to understand commitment by practicing it myself.  I spend time with the developers during product release or critical bug fixes.  Often, I am not required to be there, but if I expect someone to work overtime to fix a problem, I better be willing to do the same.  

You cultivate openness and respect by doing simple and small things.  Call people by their names and avoid using nicknames for your people.  I prefer to be called Ed instead of Edward.  I also do my best to pronounce the names of my off-shore developers.  It is a sign of respect when you address a person by their name and pronounce it correctly.  Openness is being clear about what you expect and what others should expect from you.  I open conference calls five minutes early because I want meetings to start on time.  When I miss a meeting, I send out a notice so that people know I have a reason and respect their time. 

Courage is living your life in an honest and frank manner.  It is saying what needs to be said when it is not popular.  It is making promises to others and honoring them.  Courage is betting your career each day and taking risks to get things done.  

Focus is one of the hardest things to do in a corporate environment.  Internal politics dominate decision making, people are worried about who gets the credit, and the noise from business media and shareholders can be a distraction.  Each day you are pulled in different directions.  Focus is being able to set aside those distractions and concentrate on what is essential.  To me, I must deliver software at regular intervals and provide value to my customers.  In the words of one of my mentors Angela Dugan, “Do your job, and if they fire you, it is their problem.”

The values of scrum need to be practiced by the team.  It means walking the walk as well as talking the talk.  It is why leadership is hard.  

Until next time.