Maximize Scrum with the Scrum Values: Courage (Part 3 of 5)

I would also "argue" that the values also apply to those out side of the Scrum Team as in the organization itself who must have the courage to allow the Scrum team to be responsible for design, architect, self organizing etc.

"Courage" is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.

It's natural that Courage is part of the Scrum Values.

Agreed. Organizations may preach similar values, but unless they live them, it is all for not.

I shudder at the "deliver more faster" phrase.

I'd disagree that "It takes courage to NOT show our stakeholders undone work" but rather state that it takes courage to explain "what Product Backlog items have been 'Done' and what has not been 'Done'”

A lot of courage is needed in order to embrace the agile philosophy and execute the Scrum framework.

I would agree with you, I hate the term "faster", it is more frequent. Scrum doesn't suddenly make developers key faster!

. . . or testing faster, or deployment faster, or marketing faster, or . . .

So true!

Absolutely. I gave a talk a couple of weeks about the how to recognize and coach the Scrum Values. That exact point came up.... if others are not honoring our values, that is an area we will need to address.

I appreciate your alternative phrasing.

Yes! Yes!

It takes courage to show our weaknesses. Showing weakness is essential to build real trust between the people in the team.

This blog reminds me of an idea I read in the book Freakonomics about how hard it can be for people to just say "I don't know" rather than try and blag an answer to something they think they should know. I think it takes courage to admit a gap in knowledge or understanding but it can really help you learn or find new ways of tackling a problem.

"It takes courage to NOT show our stakeholders undone work." could you explain to me more as i may get your sentence in not the right way.

Courage to commit to deliver a valuable increment GONE in the revised scrum guide ! Is Scrum no longer courageous ?

This is so beautiful. In the corporate world, there is often a proclivity toward obfuscation and a desire to let blame run downhill rather than to try and overcome this hierarchical blame loop through transparency and courage. I find it so troublesome that so many entry level workers are taught to accept personal responsibility for systematic problems inherent to a company and then those once vulnerable individuals get promoted and perpetuate this cycle of sending blame away from an inherently faulty system and down to the company's most vulnerable members.

Transparency regarding our systems in their present state rather than a perfunctory parroting of "this is how we have done things for so many X number of years" is the only way a company can adapt to changing needs.

The great news is, Scrum actively promotes this adaptive, transparent mindset. There is no low person in the hierarchy. Each team member take responsibility for their part in team conflict and setbacks. The system is viewed as inherently imperfect along the way to product delivery. People realize that accepting responsibility is simply the first step toward adapting and solving even more complex problems in Scrum. We don't have to keep kicking the blame can around because each team member knows that nobody is succeeding at another person's expense in Scrum. We all succeed and fall as one, so allowing our processes and products to always be transparent allows us to adapt and to recognize that most problems are situational, not personal. We therefore assess the situation that lead to our team's issues in the Sprint Retrospective or in the Daily Scrum and we forge ahead on the development journey.

It is so sad that most ancient corporations, trundling through time and accumulating decades of experience in project management, have not adopted this "make practices transparent and adapt to the response" mindset in lieu of the "find someone to blame and then sweep the issue under the rug" mindset. Scrum is at least one way to short circuit the blame loop and make transparency one of it's pillars. This is something that sincerely excites me about my Scrum journey.

Thank you for promoting courage and being an exemplary Scrum proponent.

But you didn't change it.