“True leaders” are for cults; Scrum Masters should continue prioritising servant-leadership and leave the labeling to others
In describing the Scrum Master, the 2020 Scrum Guide swaps out the term “servant-leader” for the label “true leader”. I think Scrum Masters should stay clear of assigning themselves that new moniker and keep aspiring to servant-leadership. Here’s why.
Small change, big word
The Scrum Guide’s recently-released 2020 edition uses fewer words than its 2017 predecessor. At the same time, it’s become more broadly applicable and less prescriptive. No mean feat.
There is, however, one crucial term that I wish had survived this year’s trimming: the Scrum Master’s servant-leadership has been replaced by a far less powerful alternative.
The 2017 edition simply read, “The Scrum Master is a servant-leader for the Scrum Team.” In the 2020 edition of the guide, Scrum Masters are now rebranded as “true leaders who serve the Scrum Team and the larger organization.”
Who speaks like that?
As I understood from Scrum Guide…
Having previously been exposed to practices of agility through your work, on the pandemic-induced level playing field of distributed collaboration, you have a key advantage: as a PO, developer, analyst, tester, you already know that change is a given, and you’ve got the tools to iteratively deal with it. Help others do so, too.
🗣 This article is a companion piece to my conference talk Facilitating Intentional Agility from Home, delivered at Agile Tour Vilnius 2020.
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Thomas van Zuijlen
Facilitator & Scrum Master
