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Scrum team conflict with stakeholders, management

Last post 06:51 pm April 14, 2022 by Daniel Wilhite
2 replies
10:15 pm April 13, 2022

Hi,

I'm a Scrum Master  and our Scrum team have conflict with stakeholders and management position,  so as a SM how I can help my Scrum team and organization to move forward ?

Thanks,


05:15 pm April 14, 2022

Is it a healthy conflict, a productive dissent? Some degree of conflict, arising from diversity of opinion, is often needed to move forward at all.


06:51 pm April 14, 2022

Playing off of @Ian's statement, if I were in your place, I would find a way to use the conflict in a productive way.  Conflict is sometimes exactly what is needed to foster productive conversations.  Why is the cause of these conflicts?  Are they caused because of miscommunication or because of different views on direction?  Do the "stakeholders and management position" understand the Scrum framework and its benefits?  Same question should be asked about the organization and Scrum Team.  

In my experience, conflict is usually a result of some kind of misunderstanding.  Conflicts usually need a neutral party to help facilitate the conflicts.  In Scrum, the Scrum Master is that individual.  The Scrum Master has no stake in the work being done on a product.  They are there to help everyone in the organization understand and appreciate the Scrum framework. They coach the organization in how to successfully use the Scrum framework to obtain all of its benefits.  

This is your chance to be a servant-leader.  Initiate the necessary discussions to uncover the root cause of the conflict and to facilitate the end. 


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