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Scrummaster reporting line

Last post 09:03 pm October 26, 2015 by Ian Mitchell
3 replies
Jonathan Rigby
06:58 am October 26, 2015

Hi, I am new to this group and have had a quick search of the forum to see if this has been discussed, ,but cant see it readily, so apolgies if it has

My questions is do any of you have scrummasters that report into a different line manager to the delivery team. What might be the pros/cons of such an arrangement?

Many thanks in advance
Jon

Niels Dimmers
10:30 am October 26, 2015

Hi Jon,

I am scrum master and report to a different line manager than the rest of the team (who report to a delivery manager). The pro is that as a scrum master, I don't feel taken back to discuss my team members with the delivery manager, because she is not my manager, but the delivery manager and my manager need to cooperate very closely, since different viewpoints or directions could disturb the team. I think it is preferred to all have the same manager so the team can be treated as a whole and not as different parts within this whole.

Regards

Timothy Baffa
05:17 pm October 26, 2015


... as a scrum master, I don't feel taken back to discuss my team members with the delivery manager, because she is not my manager



Niels, what possible feedback would you ever want to provide to the Delivery Manager for the team?

That is a very shaky path to go on. The SM should strive at all times to treat the team as a whole, even when alternate reporting lines exist.

Ian Mitchell
09:03 pm October 26, 2015

The best authority for the Scrum Master to "report" to is the one who can assist in the removal of team impediments. It might be a group rather than a specifically empowered individual. In either case the principle should be one of extended and collaborative servant leadership.

So in your situation...what is being reported, and why? How does this reporting help the Scrum Master to help the team?

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