True Leadership Is an Attitude

Writers Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, having introduced the framework for Scrum in their Scrum Guide (updated 2020), described Scrum Masters as, “...true leaders who serve the Scrum Team and the larger organisation.”

Introducing the shift in the mindset or attitude is, in my experience, a requisite to become a genuine leader. 

Currently, major tension managed by the Scrum Masters can be said to be between a specific purpose and associated safety. It has a couple of interpretations:

• In what way can I provide my Scrum teams a safe environment?
• In what way can I, myself, feel safe for enabling this environment?

Hundreds of Scrum Masters have asked me these questions, but in my opinion, there is no hard and fast rule for a safe path towards true leadership. 

People want to know, “How can I move forward in my journey?” “In what manner can I unleash the positive energy entirely and humanise the teams’ nature from a self-organising viewpoint?”

To answer, I look at two distinct mind structures, as conceptualised and introduced by Bob Anderson. 

Creative + Reactive Mindset 

The Reactive Mindset, or thought process, begins when one is faced with a certain problem. A frightening feeling comes into existence, leading to results that are fluctuating in nature. 

The Creative Structure of the mindset is starkly different, where the patterns, besides the performance, are unlike the Reactive thought process. Scrum Masters with a creative thought process essentially bootstrap their mental faculties from a highly creative viewpoint. They possess the passion, a clear vision and limitless love in serving their organisational teams and companies. 

Simultaneously, they are not concerned about the outcome. For them, every problem is a golden opportunity. Hence, the loop supports Scrum Master traversing towards creative dimensions of the thought process or attitude. The natural tendency of attitude is leading towards balanced, sustainable results. 

Once a Scrum Master realises their creative power, they deftly shift the manner in which they deliver their suite of services. The focus remains on what they try to create, on the basis of knowledge they have. They also pertinently realise there is no existence of a safe and sound path to genuine leadership. 

Rarely do we function creatively always. Our minds do juggle. But cultivating mindfulness when you are reactive can positively aid in deciphering thoughts. By consciously focusing on the shifting thoughts, a creative mindset, which I term as Abundance mindset, can be achieved. 

About the Author

Venkatesh Rajamani is a Certified Enterprise Coach^SM,  CAL-Educator and Certified Team Coach® with Scrum Alliance. He is also a Scrum Foundations Educator with Scrum Alliance and holds various other certifications in the agile space.