Scrum doesn’t work because of rules. It works because of people—and their intelligence.
As the Scrum Guide puts it: “Scrum is built upon by the collective intelligence of the people using it.”
Let’s zoom in on the last part: “the intelligence of the people using it.”
What does that really mean & how do you know your team is using theirs?
Scrum doesn’t assume people need to be told what to do. It assumes people are capable—intelligent—and that this intelligence is the driving force for adaptation, learning, and value delivery.
Cambridge Dictionary "intelligence is the ability to learn, understand, and make judgments or have opinions that are based on reason”
That’s a lot packed into one word—let’s break it down.
The ability to learn: “to get new knowledge or skill in a subject or activity”:
- Do team members actively seek feedback on what worked and what didn’t?
- Do they treat Sprints, Reviews, and Retrospectives as real learning moments?
The ability to understand: “to know why or how something happens or works”:
- Are developers encouraged to understand customer needs—not just build what’s asked?
- Do teams dig into root causes and patterns—not just symptoms—when something does not go as planned?
The ability to make judgement: “to form, give, or have as an opinion, or to decide about something or someone, especially after thinking carefully”:
- Are team members trusted to assess trade-offs and make product decisions?
- Does the team reflect and decide which experiments to continue or stop?
The ability to have opinions based on reason: “a thought or belief about something or someone”
- Are differing opinions welcomed and reasoned through—or avoided because of discomfort?
- Is decision-making based on data, insights, and feedback—or HIPPOs?
“Ability: the mental or physical power or skill needed to do something”.
People can learn, understand, and reason—if the environment supports it. If we remove blockers and give them clarity and purpose, they’ll figure out better ways of working than any checklist could prescribe.
Create that environment that nurtures intelligence.
- Ask questions that surface assumptions and encourage reasoning
- Let teams decide how to do the work, within clear goals
- Normalise “not knowing yet” as part of learning
- Reward thoughtful disagreement over easy agreement
- Organise a Learning Kata session every Sprint
Time to reflect:
- Are you creating space for reasoned decisions, or just rewarding compliance?
- Is your team empowered to think, or just to do?
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!
