As a scrum master I sometimes find it useful to compare what I do with coaching a sports team. Recently I was given the opportunity to put this theory into practice when I was invited to coach a national team at the World Orienteering Championships.
One of the most important jobs of a scrum master is to ensure that the day to day work of the team runs smoothly. Above all a happy team is a productive team. Likewise a happy team of athletes will get better results. So this was one of my main targets when going into the World Championships – shield the runner’s from any external problems and create a positive atmosphere.
You might think that a coach would spend most of his time telling the athletes what to do. But for a team of experienced international athletes there’s not an awful lot new to tell them. In fact I found myself working more like a facilitator – stimulating discussions, and encouraging the athletes to come up with their own solutions for handling the race situations. Very scrum masterish!
Of course there are differences too. Running a major championship is more comparable to releasing a system rather than working in scrum sprints. Though this is just what the athletes do in the run up to a major race. Using short, medium and long term goals they work incrementally towards the big release date.
So how did it go? No medals this time but some successes as well as a few disappointments. Now I hope there will be a chance to do a retrospective with the team – I’m sure that would help them get better results next time. And help me to do a better job, if I’m asked to help again.
Inga kommentarer:
Skicka en kommentar