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The fastest way to cripple a Scrum Team? Hire the wrong Scrum Master

TL;DR; Hiring the wrong Scrum Master, especially one who acts as a process admin rather than a true agile leader, can seriously harm a Scrum Team. Effective Scrum Masters coach teams toward self-management, challenge obstacles, and connect engineering with business goals. To enable real agility and high performance, hire Scrum Masters who drive change and value, not just manage meetings.

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https://nkdagility.com/resources/567GkDxvlbX
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The fastest way to cripple a Scrum Team? Hire the wrong Scrum Master.

Too many companies mistake the Scrum Master for a process admin. Someone to book meetings, write Jira tickets, and make sure the team follows “the rules.”

That’s not a Scrum Master. That’s an event planner.

The real Scrum Master is a lean-agile practitioner—someone who understands product strategy, DevOps, modern engineering, and team dynamics. They’re a change agent, not a note-taker.

A strong Scrum Master:

A weak Scrum Master? They turn into a Scrum Secretary, maintaining the illusion of agility while the team stagnates.

If you want Scrum to actually work, hire someone who sees Scrum as an enabler of high-performance teams—not just a set of meetings.

Seen this mistake before?

Also published on: LinkedIn
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