This post originally appeared on LinkedIn in November 2021.
Awkward Agile moment: telling people in power “no.”
Early in my Agile career – pretty much days into my first job as a Scrum Master – a manager in our department asked to be invited to our team’s Daily Scrum. The manager wasn’t involved in the daily operations of the team and wanted to check in on what the team was up to.
I knew in my gut that something was off about the request, but I didn’t have the experience or vocabulary to explain what it was.
Instead I mumbled something about Daily Scrums being “for the team” and that the Scrum Guide didn’t say that managers were included.
This kicked off a relationship that remained contentious throughout my time with the team and got me a label of being “inflexible.”
Here’s what I would do today:
Assume good intent. This request is coming from a place of wanting to help the team and look out for their wellbeing.
Acknowledge and appreciate. Thank the person for caring about the team. Acknowledge the opportunity to improve the team’s transparency.
Throw in a gentle kernel of education. “Since Daily Scrum is a time for the team to sync with each other…”
Offer a solution. “…maybe the team Scrum Masters could meet with you regularly to keep you up to speed on what’s going on and where we could use your help.”
And then I would probably run into the bathroom and do some deep breathing exercises because despite my years of experience, saying no to people in power does not. get. any less terrifying!
"NOPE" by Scott Beale is licensed with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/