Why being a Scrum Master is awesome

Now that you (after reading my first article) know what a Scrum Master is, this week I'd like to take you through why the Scrum Master role is so much fun. Okay, okay, the title of this article is a bit suggestive and the role certainly doesn't suit everyone, but:

“To be happy, you have to do something that makes you happy”

– Johan Cruyff

And I am happy with the Scrum Master role. Why? I will explain it to you in this article, so that you get a glimpse into the kitchen of a passionate Scrum Master and you can judge whether you want to become a Scrum Master. Or maybe you think: “What makes me happy? Am I doing work that makes me happy? And why is that?”

My upcoming series of articles will build on this article to answer questions such as “How do I become a Scrum Master?” or “What exactly does a Scrum Master do?”, so that you have a step-by-step plan to become a Scrum Master.

But I'll start with why.

For the attentive reader, this is a reference to Start With Why by Simon Sinek¹; author, speaker and consultant known for his theory of “The Golden Circle” and the concept of “Start with Why” to promote leadership and organizational and personal success.

Of course, every Scrum Master will answer this question differently, but here you can read my answer to this question first. Then I will explain this answer using theory about job satisfaction. Finally, I will ask you a number of questions to assess whether you will find the Scrum Master role as fantastic as I do.

Why do I love the Scrum Master role?

I love the Scrum Master role for four reasons:

1. Creative problem solving:

In this role I can give free rein to my creative mind. Whether it is facilitating retrospectives (sessions to look back on the collaboration in the past period) or solving problems, I believe that creative solutions are always the answer. I am someone who likes to motivate others to embrace their own creativity, challenge their way of thinking and see opportunities in every problem – because therein lies the possibility to create something special. Creativity not only contributes to solving problems but also to making progress and accelerating developments.

2. Connecting:

I am someone who gets energy from interacting with others. As a natural connector, I enjoy engaging in deep conversations with colleagues, learning what makes others tick, and understanding their perspectives. This process of listening, asking questions, and allowing space for reflection helps me to truly understand others before I offer advice or challenge them to see things from a different perspective.

3. Measuring and improving in a constantly changing world:

What drives me is the ability to make teams more successful by creating an environment that embraces experimentation and continuous change. For me, every step we take, even the smallest, is an opportunity to learn, grow and improve. In addition, I can help teams to make progress measurable and gain insight. Only in this way can we discuss it as a team and see where opportunities lie, to achieve better results together and become a more successful team.

4. Facilitating job satisfaction:

Work can and should be fun! Creating a positive atmosphere can be done through energizers (short games to increase energy), team outings or games. These activities are not only fun, but also promote team bonding and contribute to progress. In addition, I regularly make a pun (people who know me well will say that regularly is an understatement). But I also ensure that “positive time” ;).

Of course, I can give many more reasons why I love this role, but these are the four main reasons for me that make me happy with what I do. I would now like to take you through a bit of theory about job satisfaction, so that I can then link it to my four reasons.

Job satisfaction

Why do you love one thing (and hate another)? That says something about you. And if you do too much work that makes you unhappy, you will probably look for another job. But how do you determine what makes you happy? Fortunately, there is enough theory about that. While writing this article, I accidentally discovered that the week of work happiness was last week. That makes sense! In my opinion, work happiness is an essential topic and is still often dismissed as; “Oh, it's just work. I get my happiness from my family, friends, weekends”However, if you work 40 hours in a week (of 168 hours), you are almost 25% of your time at work. That is, in my opinion, too much time to be unhappy. And then I have conveniently left out travel time and hours that you are (mentally) busy with work outside of work hours. It is not surprising that most burn-outs occur at work. How nice would it be to do work that makes you happy? Then at the end of your workday you still have enough energy left to be nice with family and friends and you are really free in the weekend, without having to say goodbye on Monday “Too bad the weekend was so short!”

To avoid confusion, job satisfaction is not the same as being satisfied with your job. You can be satisfied if, for example, you get a good salary, work in a nice office building or can work from home a lot. You will probably not change jobs that quickly, but you do not necessarily have to be happy with what you do. Job satisfaction goes deeper than satisfaction and leads to, for example, more involvement and motivation. Job satisfaction can be divided into four components: Purpose, People, Progress & Positivity.

The four pillars of job satisfaction²

These are the four variables you can work on to experience more happiness at work. In a future article I will go deeper into these pillars. Now back to why I love the role of Scrum Master and the link with happiness at work:

1. Creative problem solving:

This is directly linked to my Purpose: Creative work is a source of energy for me, it drives me to look beyond the obvious and gives me the space to come up with new, innovative solutions.

2. Connecting:

For me this is about the pillar People. I am happy when I can work with others and help people grow both professionally and personally. For me, the trick is to connect with colleagues with whom I find it more difficult to work together and to understand the other. That is where most learning takes place.

3. Measuring and improving in a constantly changing world:

This part of why I love the Scrum Master role has to do with the pillar Progress. Because you can only make progress and improve if you make it measurable.

4. Facilitating job satisfaction:

And finally, this piece can be translated back to Positivity. I have often heard that my presence in teams boosts the positive energy in my teams.

There are of course many more arguments why someone might find the Scrum Master role fantastic (and they certainly overlap, because a positive environment also ensures faster progress, for example), but they can always be translated back to these 4 pillars.

Would you love the Scrum Master role?

What do you think? Does the Scrum Master role suit you? Some questions you can ask yourself:

1. Purpose:
   • Do I enjoy leading and facilitating teams, and find satisfaction in helping overcome challenges and achieve goals?
2. People:
   • Do I enjoy communicating and collaborating with team members and different stakeholders, and do I have the ability to build bridges between different teams and departments?
3. Progress:
   • Do I enjoy solving problems and am I able to devise and implement creative and innovative solutions to complex challenges?
   • Am I comfortable in a dynamic and changing environment. Do I have the ability to adapt quickly and guide my team through change?
   • Am I committed to personal and professional growth, and am I excited about the idea of continuous improvement and learning for both myself and my team?
4. Positivity:
   • Do you get energy from inspiring and motivating a team, and do you want to promote positivity and cooperation within a group, even in challenging and changing circumstances?

If you find yourself responding positively to these questions, chances are you would love to be a Scrum Master too!

Finally…

A question for experienced Scrum Masters: How did you become a Scrum Master and what do you find most fantastic about your role? and which pillar(s) would you like to pay more attention to?

Next week I'll take you through how to become a Scrum Master and the first steps you can take to build a great Scrum team.

Your thoughts, questions and insights are not only welcome, but essential. Together we create a vibrant community of learning and growth. So feel free to share your experiences, suggestions and questions!

See you next week!

With warm regards,

Mark

Footnotes

1. I like to be inspired by Simon Sinek. I can highly recommend his books “Start with Why” and “Find your Why”. https://simonsinek.com ↩︎
2. This image comes from “the Happy Office” – The four pillars of Happiness at Work ↩︎