Is Scrum Master a stressful job?

A vital aspect of any Organisation today, Scrum is a set of rules which guides people so as to achieve a well-defined goal. Scrum relies upon an incremental approach while focusing on controlling risk and increasing predictability. To the uninitiated, Scrum inspires people to self-organise as they work towards a solution and understand their position through their own experience. The Scrum Master plays a key role in helping the entire Scrum Team to follow the processes that were agreed upon, along with carrying out a plethora of other activities. Since the entire effectiveness of the project ultimately lies in the hands of the Scrum Master, the job might get overwhelming for some. Contrary to the popular belief though, the work of a Scrum Master is not a stressful job. 

In order to comprehend the buzz around the role of a Scrum Master being stressful, let us first dive deep into the roles and responsibilities of the same.   

1. Implementing Project Management: The first and the foremost job of a Scrum Master is to create a team, assign duties and provide a vivid picture of the product. Facilitating information exchange and communication is also an important aspect of the job. In addition to these, a Scrum Master also oversees the progress, provides feedback and maintains an environment of constant learning. 
2. Coach team members: Not everybody can be expected to be well-equipped with the processes of Agile and Scrum, which is why we need a coach and a Scrum Master does the job perfectly. He or she will mentor the Product Owner and the Developers. It is a continuous process where the Scrum Master will look for ideas to enhance team productivity. 
3. Organize Stand-Up Meetings: The Scrum Master is supposed to host stand-up meetings every day where the team discusses their plans, progress, and obstacles. The Scrum Master ensures that every team member attends these meetings. 
4. Helping with Product Backlog: The term refers to the number of tasks which the Scrum Team is supposed to accomplish. Although creation of the Product Backlog is supposed to be done by the product owner, the Scrum Master assists him in updating the backlog with the help of the data gathered from stand-up meetings. 

As it is clearly evident from above, the Scrum Master is burdened with a lot of work, but the job isn’t stressful at all. A Scrum Team is comprised of Developers and Product Owners as well, and they, along with the help of a Scrum Master work together to accomplish the set goals. The presence of other members in the team allows overall competence to build up, resulting in enhanced overall productivity. Apart from the help rendered by other team members, there are also certain ways in which a Scrum Master can reduce stress, if it arises. Let us take a look at them.

1. Proper planning: The golden rule for the Scrum Master here is to clearly understand the skill set of the team and then commit to the work accordingly so that they can avoid biting more than you can chew. To do this, the historical data of the team members can help you better comprehend the position your team is currently in so that you plan things in a better way. Usually Scrum Masters tend to overlook the warnings of their team members regarding the amount of work. It is better in such scenarios to either not take up such work or mark it as a stretch goal, so that the stakeholders don’t feel unsatisfied after the Sprint and you are also not stressed out. 
2. Protection from stakeholders: Business stakeholders interfering with the project is a common occurrence. At times the stakeholders come up with their new ideas when a Sprint is under process and this usually adds up to the overall work for the team. The plan gets disrupted, the progress is hindered and overall stress builds up for the Scrum Master. To prevent this, the Scrum Master should be able to negotiate with the stakeholders so as to preserve his/her own interests and maintain the enthusiasm of the team. 
3. Organizing events: Another excellent way of dealing with work-related stress and building employee confidence is organizing teambuilding events. These events, usually virtual, are supposed to be fun where team members do not talk about work. The main aim is to make every person in the team feel comfortable and build teamwork. 

Conclusion

This blog has thrown some light on the roles and responsibilities of a Scrum Master and also the ways in which the stress which is possibly caused by these roles can be mitigated. As one can see from above, there is no paucity of methods which can be employed in an attempt to alleviate the ‘so-called’ stress associated with the job of a Scrum Master. In a nutshell, it can be concluded that the Scrum Master is not a stressful job. 

References

1. www.scrumguides.org
2. https://scrumteam.pro/
3. www.agilemanifesto.org
4. www.agilealliance.org