Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast

Season Hughes: How To Be A Data-Driven Scrum Master Or Agile Coach Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. Season approaches Scrum Master success by regularly referring back to the Scrum Guide and measuring progress against its principles. She emphasizes the importance of collecting data and measuring key indicators like self-management, which she tests by occasionally stepping back from daily Scrum meetings to observe team autonomy. Season also stresses the value of one-on-one conversations to understand individual goals and assess team event effectiveness. Self-reflection Question: How do you measure the effectiveness of your role as a Scrum Master beyond just following ceremonies? Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: Lean Coffee Season recommends the Lean Coffee format for retrospectives as it puts control directly in the hands of participants

Season Hughes: Understanding the "Why" Behind Agile Transformation Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. Drawing from her consulting experience, Season shares valuable insights about leading successful Agile transformations. Rather than simply implementing Scrum, she emphasizes the importance of understanding organizational motivations by asking crucial questions like "Why do you want this change?" and "What does success look like?"  She outlines a comprehensive approach that begins with foundational training using the Scrum Guide, followed by Liftoff workshops to establish team foundations, working agreements, and regular check-ins to support continuous improvement. In this segment, we refer to the Liftoff book, by Diana Larsen and Ainsley Niles. Self-reflection Question: What steps are you taking to understand and align with your organization's transf

Season Hughes: Transforming Workgroups into High-Performing Teams Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. Season shares insights about a common anti-pattern she's observed across organizations: calling a group of people a team doesn't automatically make them one. She discusses how many supposed teams are actually workgroups - collections of independent contributors rewarded for individual rather than collective achievements. Season provides specific criteria to distinguish between workgroups and real teams, emphasizing the importance of shared goals and collaborative success metrics. In this segment, we also refer to the One-Team, One-Goal (OTOG) article by Vasco. Featured Book of the Week: The Scrum Guide Season emphasizes the fundamental importance of The Scrum Guide as essential reading for Scrum Masters. She stresses that since Scrum Masters are acco

Season Hughes: How A Product Cancellation Tests a New Scrum Master's Growth Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. As a new Scrum Master, Season faced a challenging situation when her team learned their product would be canceled. Initially, she made the mistake of telling team members they could skip daily standups if they had higher priorities, leading to unexpected low attendance. During the retrospective, she transformed this challenge into a learning opportunity by helping team members reflect on their personal growth and lessons learned. This experience taught her the importance of maintaining team ceremonies while providing individual support during difficult transitions. In this segment, we talk about ORSC, a systems inspired team and relationship coach training. Self-reflection Question: How would you maintain team engagement and motivation when fa

BONUS: How to create psychological safety at work with Mehmet Baha   In this BONUS episode, we talk about the essential elements of creating psychological safety at work with Mehmet Baha, one of Facebook's first European employees and a renowned psychological safety expert. Drawing from his extensive experience and new book, Baha shares practical tools, inspiring examples, and thought-provoking insights that can help transform workplace culture. This episode builds on Mehmet’s guest blog post on the concepts we discuss. You can find Baha’s guest blog post on psychological safety here.  The Power of the 16-32-64 Framework The conversation begins with Baha introducing his innovative "16-32-64" framework, a comprehensive approach that combines head (cognition), heart (emotion), and hands (practice). This framework provides 16 inspiring examples, 32 practical tools, and 64 questions designed to foster psychological safety in the workplace. Baha explains how this interactive approach encourages reade

Substack Week: AI in Product Management, Enhancing Product Development Through Artificial Intelligence with Toni Dos Santos In this Substack Week episode, we explore how artificial intelligence is transforming product management with Toni Dos Santos, co-author of The Product Courier newsletter. From automating routine tasks to enhancing strategic decision-making, Toni shares practical insights on leveraging AI to build better products faster and more efficiently. From Music to Banking to AI Product Management "I wanted to work in that area to find ways to put innovation to service to the consumers, and making it as invisible as possible." Toni's journey into AI and product management began in an unexpected place - the music industry. After working as a music producer, his interest in innovation led him to banking, where he discovered the untapped potential of data analytics. His experience working with machine learning and deep learning in banking laid the foundation for his current work with gener

Substack Week: The Shared Ownership Challenge, Understanding Clear Accountability in Engineering Teams With Rafa Páez Welcome to our Substack Week, where we interview thought leaders who publish newsletters on Substack to help you find inspiring voices that drive our community forward. In this episode, we explore the concept of shared ownership and its pitfalls with Rafa Páez, an experienced engineering leader with insights on creating clear accountability in teams. The Pitfalls of Shared Ownership In engineering teams, shared ownership often manifests as ambiguity in responsibility and accountability. Rafa shares a personal experience where assigning two engineers to lead an initiative resulted in nothing getting done, as each assumed the other would take action. This phenomenon highlights how shared ownership without clear accountability can lead to missed deadlines, poor quality deliverables, and team conflicts. "It might not be my fault because I thought the other person was available, I though

Substack Week: Engineering Strategy, Bridging Technical Excellence with Business Success With Aleix Morgadas In this Substack Week episode, we explore the critical intersection of engineering strategy and business success with Aleix Morgadas, an engineering strategy consultant focusing on sociotechnical aspects of high-stake business challenges. Aleix shares insights from his experience helping organizations align their technical capabilities with business objectives, while offering practical approaches to developing and implementing effective engineering strategies. The Genesis of Engineering Strategy Personal experience sparked Aleix's journey into engineering strategy when he joined a large company and found himself grappling with strategic decision-making in engineering. He identified a crucial gap: while strategy was well-established in product and business domains, engineering organizations often lacked strategic frameworks for participating in key decisions. This realization led him to start w

Substack Week: Bridging the Gap Between Agile Teams and Leadership With Josh Anderson In this Substack Week episode, we explore the critical challenges and opportunities in the relationship between Agile teams and organizational leadership. Josh Anderson shares insights from his extensive experience in technology leadership and discusses how both sides can work together more effectively. Understanding the Business-Team Divide "We are part of the business, but many teams separate it out say, 'Oh, that's over there, that's not us.' No, that is us." One of the most common challenges in organizations is the perceived divide between "the business" and development teams. Josh emphasizes that this separation is an anti-pattern that needs to be addressed. Teams must understand how they create value for customers and how their work connects to the organization's broader mission. The key is asking fundamental questions like "Why do we exist?" and focusing on delivering real value to customers rather than jus

Substack Week: Why Product Management is Broken and How to Fix It With Anton Zaides In this SPECIAL Substack Week episode, we dive deep into the current state of product management with Anton Zaides, a seasoned software engineer and leader. Anton shares his perspectives on why product management is fundamentally broken and offers practical solutions for organizations looking to improve their product development processes. The Journey to Engineering Leadership "I started to search for content from other engineering managers and focused on practical insights." Anton's journey spans 15 years in software engineering, from game development to DevOps and scaling startups. His transition to leadership revealed a gap in practical leadership content, which inspired him to start sharing his own experiences. Drawing from his four years as an engineering leader in a startup, Anton noticed patterns in product management that needed addressing, leading to his viral article on the topic. The Broken State of Pro

BONUS: The Future of Agility, Insights from Industry Research with Simon Powers Is Agile really dead? What does this wide research from industry reveal?  In this detailed, and insightful episode, we explore the current state and future of agility with Simon Powers, founder of The Deeper Change Academy. Simon shares insights from his comprehensive survey conducted between October and December 2024, which included 311 survey responses, 15 case studies, and 8 in-depth interviews with senior leaders. The Current State of Agility The research reveals that while there's been a decline in traditional agile roles and certifications since October 2023, approximately 70% of organizations continue to invest in agile practices and transformations. However, these initiatives are often being rebranded and restructured, moving away from traditional "agile transformation" terminology. "Organizations are still embracing agility and moving forward with change, but what they're doing is that the names they're using

Mateusz Komander: From Business Analyst to Product Champion, The Impact Of Vision In The PO Role Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. The Great Product Owner: The Empowered Business Analyst Mateusz shares an inspiring example of a Business Analyst who embodied the ideal Product Owner traits despite not having the official title. This proxy PO took genuine ownership of the platform, demonstrated strong decision-making abilities by saying "no" to stakeholders when necessary, and actively supported the team's ideas. Their success came from maintaining a clear vision for the product while remaining open to experimentation. The Bad Product Owner: The Vision-less Decision Maker The most significant anti-pattern Mateusz observed was a Product Owner lacking a clear vision for their product. This absence of vision made decision-making challenging and complicated

This is a special episode, where I introduce the "Big Agile Questions" survey and review some of the questions that you've already submitted! Thank you all who did! You can find the submission form here. Submit your questions, as we will be reviewing these in future episodes! To join 25,341 other Agilists on our Newsletter (˜1 post/week), visit this page, and join. The Power of Asking Better Questions At every major turning point in history, from the Renaissance to the Industrial Revolution, progress has begun with asking better questions. The Agile movement itself started with the authors of the Agile Manifesto questioning traditional software development methods. Now, in 2025, with significant changes in the industry including PMI's acquisition of the Agile Alliance, the community faces a crucial moment to shape its future direction through thoughtful inquiry and reflection. "Throughout history, the biggest leaps forward have come from people willing to ask difficult, sometimes even quite challenging, que

Mateusz Komander: Understanding Team Expectations - The Key to Scrum Master Success Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. For Mateusz, success as a Scrum Master starts with understanding team expectations. He emphasizes the importance of regularly asking teams "What do you expect from me as your Scrum Master?" The responses not only reveal the team's previous experiences with Scrum Masters but also indicate their maturity level and understanding of the role. By asking this question periodically, Mateusz can track the team's evolution and adapt his approach accordingly. Self-reflection Question: When was the last time you explicitly asked your team about their expectations of you as a Scrum Master, and how did their answers influence your approach? Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: Adapt to Your Team's Needs Mateusz learned through experience t

Mateusz Komander: Scaling with Purpose, Managing Agile Team Growth While Avoiding Conway's Law Pitfalls Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. Mateusz shares a compelling story about scaling an application development team that started small but grew rapidly. The team implemented a Flight Levels system, breaking into smaller groups of four people maximum to maintain focus and efficiency.  While this approach initially showed promising results, it eventually led to unexpected challenges as teams began forming silos around architectural layers, exemplifying Conway's Law in action. This experience highlighted the importance of carefully managing team identities and considering platform team approaches when scaling. Self-reflection Question: How can you maintain cross-functional collaboration when scaling teams while preventing natural tendencies toward technic

Mateusz Komander: When Process Becomes a Prison, Breaking Free from Over-Rigid Agile Team Practices Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. Working with an airline scheduling tool development team, Mateusz encountered a situation where rigid processes became a self-imposed prison. Instead of adapting to challenges, the team's response to missed deadlines was to add more process layers, particularly around testing.  The daily standups became status reports rather than collaboration opportunities, with team members focused on appearing busy rather than supporting each other. Through careful intervention, Mateusz helped transform their daily meetings to focus on future collaborations and mutual support needs. Self-reflection Question: How can you identify if your team's processes are serving as protective measures or becoming barriers to effective collaboration?

Mateusz Komander: The True Purpose of Scrum, Enabling Individuals And Interactions Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. In this insightful episode, Mateusz shares a valuable learning experience from his early days as a Scrum Master in a biotech company. With a small team of five people, he initially believed he could improve upon existing practices by modifying the Scrum framework. However, by skipping crucial ceremonies like daily standups, planning sessions, and retrospectives, hidden team conflicts emerged.  This experience led Mateusz to a crucial realization: Scrum isn't merely about process management, but rather about facilitating meaningful connections and interactions between team members while enabling empirical management. Self-reflection Question: How might your current understanding of Scrum's purpose be limiting your effectiveness as a Scrum

BONUS: Beyond Process, How Psychology is Reshaping Modern Leadership with Ari-Pekka Skarp In this BONUS episode, we dive deep into the evolving landscape of Agile leadership with Ari-Pekka Skarp, an experienced Agile Coach, Psychotherapist, and Organizational Psychologist. Drawing from his unique blend of expertise, Ari-Pekka shares his lessons learned on how leadership has transformed over the past decades and what the future holds for Agile organizations. The Evolution of Agile and Social Complexity "We replaced authority with collaboration, this was revolutionary." The journey of Agile adoption over the past 16 years has been marked by two significant developments: technological advancement and increasing social complexity. Ari-Pekka reflects on how Scrum introduced a revolutionary "shared" aspect of collaborative work, fundamentally changing how hierarchies are established in modern organizations. This shift represents a departure from traditional command-and-control structures towards more col

Chrissy Fleming: The Pressure Conduit, aka The Tornado Product Owner Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. The Great Product Owner: Customer Advocate and Team Partner A great Product Owner brings customer insights directly to the team and shares access to customers, fostering deeper understanding of user needs. They maintain transparency about their knowledge limits and involve the team in both problem and solution spaces, ensuring comprehensive understanding before diving into solutions. The Bad Product Owner: The Pressure Conduit, aka The Tornado This anti-pattern emerges when Product Owners simply transmit leadership's volatility to the team, becoming mere messengers of pressure rather than true product leaders. They fall into "tornado mode," acting as order takers without questioning the "why" behind requests or protecting the team's ability to deliver

Chrissy Fleming: The Role of Trust and Fun in High-Performing Agile Teams Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. For Chrissy, success as a Scrum Master means fostering high-performing teams that solve valuable problems. She emphasizes that while this sounds simple, it requires building trust, establishing accountability, and maintaining a commitment to continuous improvement. A key indicator of success is when teams naturally have fun together, reflecting their comfort and psychological safety. Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: Simple and Team-Led Chrissy advocates for simple retrospective formats that encourage team participation, particularly those led by team members rather than the Scrum Master. She recommends using tools like Easy Retro and MURAL for remote sessions, emphasizing the importance of individual reflection time before group disc