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Manager in a Scrum world

Last post 07:41 am January 18, 2022 by Rune Memborg
3 replies
07:58 pm January 14, 2022

I have the role of being responsible for new technology getting implemented in the development department. And I also are responsible for all the developers in this department ie hiring, firing, and helping the individual growing through 1:1. You could call the role Head of development or Developer Manager. I refer to the product director. 

 

All the developers are distributed evenly a cross all our 5 scrum teams. 

 

In a classical hierarchy my role makes sense, but in a reasonable flat organization based on the scrum values I’m not so sure how my role fits in. 

 

All POs and SMs refer to the product director. 

 

What are your thoughts is there a place for the place?


05:25 pm January 16, 2022

Instead of having Scrum Team members "refer" to higher-ups, managers should put themselves at the disposal of the teams. Remember that leaders are needed more than managers and an agile leader is a servant leader.

There's plenty of work to do and it demands courage:

  • Empower and encourage self-management, self-organization, and self monitoring within Scrum Teams
  • Pro-actively seek out and remove impediments to the above, including organizational ones
  • Make good use of bottom-up intelligence

Also recognize that the interest and concern you are showing, by even wondering about such things, will not necessarily be shared by others.


05:26 pm January 16, 2022

I don't see any problems at all with your role as you describe it, assuming that you aren't (micro)managing the Scrum Team's Developers and that you do include 360 degree feedback as part of your hiring, performance review, and firing processes to make sure that each Scrum Team has the ability to say when they need a person (perhaps with specific skills) or need to remove someone from the team.


04:28 pm January 17, 2022

First of all thanks for the replies and getting through my spelling errors. And I like both replies in their own way. In understand both points of view.

Right now I’m trying to make my self available by wandering around the office and be visible to the ones in the office. People who are remote I finder harder to be visible for  

I try to be as transparent as possible in the work I do. My calendar is visible for everyone interested. I try not to micromanage my be people. I hired them because they are smarter than me. So I try not to get in the way. 


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