How Scrum Masters Can Help Teams Implement Agile Practices
5 steps + Personal Story (Becoming a catalyst for change)
👋 Hey, Carlos here! Welcome to “The Holistic Leader”, your weekly source of simple and honest leadership, Agile, Management & team insights.
Introducing Agile to a new team is exciting, but it can also feel overwhelming.
Everyone hopes for better teamwork, faster results, and happier people.
But Agile isn’t just about following new steps or using new tools. It’s about changing how we think and work together.
As a Scrum Master, your job isn’t to force changes.
👉 It’s to help the team learn, grow, and adapt in a way that works for them.
Here’s how i did it and you can do it too:
1. Start with Reflection Exercises 🪞
Introduce a simple exercise to help the team reflect on the why behind Agile. I call this exercise “Values Check.” During a team meeting, I printed out the four values of the Agile Manifesto and the 12 principles, and we went through them one by one.
For each value, I asked questions like:
“How well are we living this value in our work?”
“What’s one thing we could do differently to embrace this value more fully?”
“What does this value mean to us as a team?”
For example, when we discussed “Responding to change over following a plan” one developer shared that they often felt pressured to stick to the original sprint goals, even when new priorities emerged.
👉 This led us to a conversation about how to handle change better, and we decided to add a quick review during daily stand-ups to reassess priorities.
2. Make Retrospectives Actionable ✅
One big issue we uncovered was that our retrospectives were full of great discussions but lacked follow-through. So, We introduced a simple rule: No more than two action items per retrospective (Max 3 action items).
We started tracking these action items in Jira, just like any other task. They were visible during daily stand-ups, so we couldn’t forget them. I made sure these items were small and achievable within the sprint. For example:
“Improve communication during stand-ups by using a shared timer.”
“Agree on clear acceptance criteria before starting a task.”
By keeping it simple and visible, the team started to follow through on improvements. Over time, they began to take ownership of this process, often bringing up the action items themselves.
3. Focus on Real Collaboration 🤝
The team admitted that much of their collaboration happened in silos. Developers worked on their tasks independently, and communication only happened during meetings. So, I encouraged more spontaneous collaboration by introducing a practice we called “Pair for a Day.”
Here’s how it worked:
For one day each sprint, team members paired up to work on a task together (XP)
It could be anything. (work on a tricky bug or even brainstorming a design solution).
At first, it felt awkward. But after a few sprints, the team started to see the benefits. They learned from each other’s strengths, solved problems faster, and built stronger relationships. One team member even said, “I feel like I understand the bigger picture now, not just my piece of it.” - (The AHA! MOMENT).
4. Use Story Mapping to Reconnect with the Customer 📊
Another issue we uncovered was that the team felt disconnected from the end user. They were focused on completing tasks but didn’t always see how their work contributed to the bigger picture.
We introduced story mapping as a way to bridge this gap.
Together, we mapped out the user journey for one of our key features.
This exercise helped the team:
Understand how their work impacted the customer.
Prioritize tasks based on user value, not just deadlines.
See gaps in our process and brainstorm ways to improve.
This wasn’t just a one-time exercise. We started using story mapping regularly during sprint planning to align on what mattered most.
5. Celebrate Small Wins 🎉
Agile is a journey, and it’s easy to get discouraged when things don’t change overnight.
To keep the momentum going, I made a point to celebrate small wins along the way.
For example:
When the team delivered their first increment that directly addressed customer feedback, we took a few minutes during our sprint review to acknowledge the effort.
When someone stepped up to lead a retrospective for the first time, we celebrated that as a sign of growing ownership.
👉 These moments of recognition helped the team see their progress and stay motivated.
6. BONUS 🛡️
Lastly, I focused on creating an environment where everyone felt safe to speak up. This was key to the team’s growth.
During one sprint, a developer mentioned feeling overwhelmed by the number of tasks assigned to them. Instead of brushing it off, I encouraged an open discussion about workload distribution.
👉 The whole team is accountable for all the work, not just individual tasks.
This led to the team deciding to limit work in progress and focus on finishing tasks before starting new ones.
The Transformation 🌱
After a few months, the team stopped just "checking boxes" and started working in a way that truly reflected Agile values.
They communicated better, delivered meaningful work more consistently, and regularly discussed how they could improve without me having to remind them.
The best part?
By the time I moved on to another team, they didn’t need me to guide them anymore
👉 They were doing it on their own.
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See you next week!
- Carlos✌️
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