When Should a Scrum Master Step Away from Their Team?

When is it the right moment to leave the team as a Scrum Master? 👋

You know what they say about being a Scrum Master, that their goal is to become obsolete? Well… is it really happening so much? 🧐

I feel like some variables are being introduced into the equation :

→ The comfortable routine : The Scrum Master joins a team, brings some cool improvements, puts the team in a continuous improvement dynamics, and then… just enjoys the show.
→ The job security : We know the market is hard so… if I make myself obsolete in my team, do I just lose my job / mission?
→ The urge to prove they still matter : Because you look so smart when you do things that other people couldn’t do, right?

I almost fell into this pitfall recently - a little bit more than one year after joining this mission at Elia Group and the EL.AI and Panoptic teams, I felt good. The teams were running at a comfortable pace, they knew what was coming and how where to go. So I could just stay there… or I could embrace the fact that I could bring more value to other teams… while a new Scrum Master, with a different view on things and a different skillset, would replace me in my former teams. 🤝

Is it a comfortable choice? Certainly not. But it’s the main reason why I became a consultant - I wanted to be « used » where I could be the most valuable. 🎁

So yesterday I spent my last day with Panoptic in the best way possible : their team day, that we spent in Ghent doing cool stuff that I will probably share more in details in the next few days. But meanwhile, I officially closed the Panoptic doors and I’m happy that Bart Maes will take care of the team with an approach that I couldn’t have.

Keep in mind - change might not be comfortable, but it’s what gets us to the next level! 😊

Thanks for all the good things Maissaa Rharrab Pirlouit Provis Nina Arens Vehid Metovic Mathias Buelens Douglas Masson Soares Bernaud Toukam Simon Lawrence ❤️

(PS. I'm not leaving Elia - just changing teams within Elia 😉)