Servant Leadership

5 minutes 5 Questions

Servant leadership refers to the role of a Scrum Master. As a servant leader, the Scrum Master does not manage the team but serves the team. Their main objective is to increase team productivity, resolve impediments that restrict the team’s progress and to ensure that the team follows Scrum practic…

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Question 1

During a sprint, a team member approaches you with an innovative idea to solve a problem that the team has long been dealing with. However, this is quite a departure from the norm and there is uncertainty in how other team members will react. What should be your course of action as a Scrum Master?

Advise waiting until the end of the project to introduce any new ideas to avoid disrupting the current sprint's workflow Instruct the team member to prepare a detailed risk assessment and report on the feasibility of the idea, ensuring that it undergoes several rounds of evaluation before being presented to the team Guide the team member to present the idea in the upcoming sprint review for peer feedback Immediately allocate a portion of the team's resources to prototype the idea without soliciting team input

Correct Answer: Guide the team member to present the idea in the upcoming sprint review for peer feedback

As a Scrum Master, fostering an environment of innovation and collaboration is key. The correct approach encourages open dialogue and leverages the collective wisdom of the team without sidelining the suggested idea or prematurely allocating resources. It avoids the pitfalls of disrupting the sprint's focus or stifling innovation by waiting too long. Furthermore, requiring exhaustive evaluations before peer review could unnecessarily delay potentially valuable ideas and deter team members from sharing.

Question 2

As a Scrum Master, you notice that the team lacks motivation and is not collaborating effectively. What should you do?

Cancel the upcoming sprint to 'reset' the team dynamic. Talk to the Product Owner only and expect them to solve the problem. Micromanage the team to ensure work is being done. Ignore the issues and assume the team will sort it out themselves. Immediately replace underperforming team members. Act as a servant leader and facilitate communication between team members to identify issues and improve collaboration.

Correct Answer: Act as a servant leader and facilitate communication between team members to identify issues and improve collaboration.

A servant leader focuses on helping the team overcome challenges by facilitating communication and collaboration. Ignoring the issues, micromanaging, or relying on the Product Owner alone will not address the underlying problems, and neither will canceling sprints or replacing team members.

Question 3

During a retrospective, a team member brings up a conflict they are experiencing with another team member. As a Scrum Master, how should you handle this situation?

Hold individual meetings with affected team members, avoiding direct conversation between them. Deflect from the conflict and move on to other topics. Report the situation to a higher authority and let them handle the conflict. Immediately resolve the conflict by assigning blame. Facilitate a discussion between the affected team members to promote understanding and find a resolution. Cancel upcoming sprint planning until the team members resolve the conflict.

Correct Answer: Facilitate a discussion between the affected team members to promote understanding and find a resolution.

A servant leader should facilitate discussions to promote understanding and find a resolution, rather than assigning blame, deflecting, or relying on higher authorities. Individual meetings may help, but openly discussing the issue promotes transparency and collaboration.

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Servant Leadership

Guide to Servant Leadership

PSM I - Servant Leadership Example Questions

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