This is the second article in a series exploring Scrum Mastery. In our first article, we introduced the 4 dimensions of Scrum Mastery. Scrum requires self-organizing, cross-functional, collaborative teams. The success of Scrum depends on the strength of the team. In this post, we'll explore the team identity dimension. 5 steps to developing a strong team identity #1 – Appreciate the individual Teams are made up of people. It's important not to lose sight of the wonderfully unique, complex people that make up a team, even as we struggle to let go of our individual egos and focus on team goals and outcomes. After all, engaged and fulfilled people are more creative and productive. First, acknowledge that everyone has a unique personality. Personality is the cornerstone of who you are, and it is driven by your preferences. This includes communication styles, learning styles, being a lark or night owl, conflict responses, introversion or extroversion, and more contextual and specific traits. While it is impossible to satisfy all individual preferences in a team, it is important to understand and appreciate individual preferences so that the team can negotiate and optimize for a particular situation.
And also appreciate when people step out of their comfort zone for the good of the whole. Second, respect people's intrinsic motivations. You don't need to motivate people. Instead, you need to create an environment that encourages intrinsic motivation . People want to choose how they work. They want to be able to improve their abilities and become good at something. They want to do more meaningful and impactful work. A key skill for all individuals to appreciate in themselves and each other is emotional intelligence. This includes understanding industry mailing list managing one's own emotions, as well as being able to recognize and influence the emotions of others. People are complex combinations of thoughts and emotions, influenced by the stories we tell ourselves and our perception of reality. These are all mixed up and constantly changing. Emotional intelligence can help you make sense of it all so you can choose how to respond to situations based on the outcomes you seek. Now that we know how individuals find intrinsic motivation, are influenced by their personality preferences, and how they use emotional intelligence in their interactions with others, let's connect it to teams. #2 – Establish team goals, team values, and team vision Why do we exist?
(Purpose) What is important to us? (value) what do we want? (imagine) These three questions guide a team on its journey to becoming a high-performing, collaborative team. This is how you can use your personal understanding and appreciation to unite around common goals, build shared values that guide you, and create a clear vision for the future state you want to create. This type of clarity enables effective self-organization and leverages intrinsic motivation. Building a team identity is not a one-time team building activity. Here are three questions that you will continue to clarify and refine. You'll use these questions as a team to assess how things are going, decide next steps, and check that you're still working toward your goals as a team. Over time, individuals on the team will begin to embody these questions and use them intuitively. #3 – Build a foundation of trust Everything depends on the foundation of trust. Trust is a willingness to be vulnerable to each other. It takes a certain amount of trust to show your true self and let people know who you are and what motivates you (see #1). It takes some trust to have meaningful conversations about values, purpose, and vision.
Trust grows over time as individuals continue to be vulnerable to each other in deeper ways, and as individuals pay great attention to the vulnerabilities of team members. I think trust is the root of team identity. As the roots grow, the team's identity becomes stronger. Teams are more resilient, can survive storms and recover faster. But root growth takes time and constant nutrition. When trust exists within a team, productive conflict is possible. People are willing to challenge each other. People are willing to challenge assumptions and share their wild and crazy (and possibly brilliant) ideas. They are willing to take smart risks. #4 – Navigate within conflict scope Conflict driven by the desire to "win" or "right" is not productive. Not saying it because you don't want to upset others or be perceived in some way is also not productive. Productive conflict occurs when people are willing to share ideas and perspectives and challenge each other's ideas and perspectives, all for the best possible outcome. This enables creativity and innovation. Productive conflict means challenging the status quo.