Scrum Master/Team Coach

A Scrum Master is like an orchestra conductor, guiding a group of individuals to create something that none of them alone could create.

—Mike Cohn, Paraphrased from Succeeding with Agile [1]

Definition: The SAFe Scrum Master/Team Coach (SM/TC) is a servant leader and coach for an Agile Team who facilitates team events and processes, and supports teams and ARTs in delivering value.

What is a Scrum Master/Team Coach?

The Scrum Master/Team Coach (SM/TC) is a key member of the Agile Team who assists the team in meeting their delivery goals. They coach self-organization and self-management of practices and processes. They help Agile Teams coordinate and participate in Agile Release Train (ART) events.

SM/TCs are responsible for helping the Agile Team increase its effectiveness within the organization. Coaching SAFe Scrum and SAFe Team Kanban supports SAFe principles and practices and helps identify and eliminate flow bottlenecks.

SM/TCs come from various backgrounds and are in high demand. Depending on the size of the team, context, and other responsibilities, the SM/TC can be a part-time or full-time role.  Sometimes, a team member assumes the role along with other duties; or an experienced SM/TC can support more than one team. However, during initial SAFe adoption, the job can be more demanding.

Although typically not people managers, they are influential Agile Team members and need the following attributes.

• Empathy – Empathy is vital for trust and effective coaching. SM/TCs show genuine concern for team members' beliefs and feelings. They foster relationships that enhance collaboration and performance.
• Conflict navigation – SM/TCs help team members resolve interpersonal conflicts, problem-solving, and decision-making. They promote what Agile coach and author Lyssa Atkins says, "Navigating conflict is our new mindset, in which we help teams move from conflict to constructive disagreement as a catapult to high performance." [2]
• Servant leadership – A servant leader influences rather than commands, focusing on the team’s needs to align outcomes with organizational values. SM/TCs can choose how to collaborate, ensuring events are positive, productive, and time-bound by facilitating or allowing team members to lead. Rotating responsibilities for meetings is essential to team growth and self-management.
• Mentoring – To help the team develop a continuous learning mindset, SM/TCs support personal development. Instead of giving team members answers, they guide them to find solutions independently.
• Transparency – Transparency is central to SAFe and vital for learning. The Scrum Master or Team Coach encourages feedback and openness, promoting transparency by reviewing work items, identifying gaps between expectations and outcomes, and pointing out recurring mistakes.
• Coach – The SM/TC understands and educates the team on methods beyond Scrum, such as SAFe, Kanban, flow, and built-in quality. They often have advanced training and experience in numerous technical and business domains.