4 Types of People Who Can Make or Break Your Scrum Team

Who are they and how to deal with them?

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Let me tell you, I've seen some things.

Walking into a new Scrum team can feel a lot like stepping into the Wild West. You've got your Stetsons and your Spurs ready to handle some chaos and deliver some serious value.

But!

Sometimes, you find yourself staring down a saloon full of folks who aren't quite ready to play by the rules.

What do you do?

As an Agile Coach, I’ve watched numerous Scrum Masters start their journey with similar folks. These were the teams that were new to Agile. My job was to observe:

• the kick-offs,

• the introductions, and

• the overall friendly (or unfriendly), “getting along” vibes,

and analyze what went wrong (or right) and what could have gone right (or wrong).

This is the story of one such Scrum Master — Ann-Marie.

Note: I have obtained written permission to publish this on Winning Strategy.

Ann is a perfect example of how a Scrum Master, or any other leader, should approach a challenging and aggressive team.

I introduced Ann to the team on her first day and gave her the floor.

As she started talking, I noticed a mix of excitement and concern on the team's faces. Everyone was polite, but it was clear that there were underlying tensions.

The team was full of strong personalities. Each team member brought unique strengths and challenges to the table, and it was Ann’s job to navigate these dynamics effectively.

Over the next few weeks, Ann did something that surprised me. She categorized her team members (11 of them in total) into 4 distinct types.

Each type could potentially do two things. They could either:

• elevate Ann’s suggested changes, or

• derail Ann’s suggested changes

Understanding and managing these types made it easier for Ann to survive a challenging team.

Weeks later, in a 1:1, Ann told me:

Building a successful Scrum team isn't just about implementing a framework.

It's about people.

It's about understanding the different personalities and motivations within a team and how they can either propel you forward or hold you back.

In this post, I'll share Ann’s insights into these 4 types of people and explore how they can make or break your Scrum team and how you can potentially influence them.

Let’s get started.