Skills in Scrum: Practice, Practice, Practice
What skills does your Scrum Team really need?
From the Scrum Guide:
“… who collectively have all the skills and expertise…”
From Cambridge Dictionary:
Skill: “an ability to do an activity or job well, especially because you have practised it.”
And since practice is at the heart of it…
Practice: “action rather than thought or ideas”, “something that is usually or regularly done, often as a habit, tradition, or custom”, “the act of doing something regularly or repeatedly to improve your skill at doing it”
Skills don’t appear out of thin air. They grow through repetition, feedback, and refinement—by doing the work, inspecting results, and adapting.
That last part is gold: because you have practised it.
Skills aren’t static. They aren’t certificates on a wall. They are muscles—built and strengthened through practice.
Think of all the skills that might matter in a Scrum Team: coding, testing, designing, planning, estimating, forecasting, marketing, public speaking, documenting, writing, critical thinking, drawing, decision-making, listening, collaborating… the list never ends.
No team starts with all the skills it will ever need.
And that’s fine—because the point is to practice, practice, practice.
Every Sprint is a chance to practice better coding and testing.
Every Review is a chance to practice listening to users and stakeholders.
Every Retrospective is a chance to practice openness, courage, and conflict resolution.
Every conversation is a chance to practice collaboration and decision-making.
Every … is a change to … (please complete the …)
In a world where products, technologies, and markets shift constantly, the skills you need will also keep changing. What matters most is that your team grows its skills by practicing them together.
So, inspect your skills:
Which are essential to deliver value each Sprint?
Which are abundant?
Which are scarce?
Who wants to learn?
Who’s ready to coach?
Scrum is designed to help you learn faster, adapt sooner, and practice more deliberately.
Because effectiveness doesn’t come from having all the skills on day one.
It comes from practicing the skills you need, together, every single Sprint.
So: what skill will your team practice next?
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
I hope you find value in these short articles and if you are looking for more clarifications, feel free to make contact.
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Wishing you an inspiring read and a wonderful journey.
Scrum on!
