Scrum Masters as change agents, often face challenges in becoming effective in their accountability. The reasons behind this can vary, but changes are inherently difficult. People resist change, consciously or unconsciously, and change agents face these challenges on personal, team and organisational levels. On the other hand, the role of the Scrum Master as a change agent is crucial and can profoundly impact the Scrum Team and Organisation. A good Scrum Master helps a Scrum Team survive in an organisation’s culture. A great Scrum Master helps change the culture, so Scrum Teams can thrive (Watts, 2021).
This article is worth reading if any of these bullet points resonate with you:
- You are a Scrum Master wishing to develop yourself as a Change Agent.
- You are an Agile leader / Agile Coach interested in making a lasting impact and changing your organisation.
- You want to understand the characteristics of a change agent better.
This article describes six characteristics that can guide your growth as a change agent. It is a valuable resource for Agile leaders (Scrum Masters, Delivery Managers, Agile Coaches) who aim to embrace their role as agents of change. In the upcoming paragraph, we will define a change agent and explore six key characteristics that can enhance your ability to drive positive change.
Who is the Change Agent?
Change agents act as actors who exert their agency to innovate and create sustainable, accepted change in the systems in which they operate (J.M. Vervoort, 2012)
This definition refers to change agents in neutral terms, covering leadership and entrepreneurial approaches. Typically, they consciously contribute to solving challenges, often incrementally but sometimes in a radical way. Building on that definition, we can start to treat
the Change Agent as:
The person who acts as a catalyst, enabler, and support for change
Scrum Master & Change Agent
The Scrum Master is accountable for establishing Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide. They do this by helping everyone understand Scrum theory and practice, both within the Scrum Team and the organization. The Scrum Master is accountable for the Scrum Team’s effectiveness. They do this by enabling the Scrum Team to improve its practices, within the Scrum framework. Scrum Masters are true leaders who serve the Scrum Team and the larger organization. (Ken Schwaber, 2020)
The role of a Scrum Master is one of many stances and diversity. A great Scrum Master is aware of these and knows when and how to apply them, depending on the situation and context. In any given situation, a Scrum Master utilizes their important soft skills to act as a Servant Leader, Facilitator, Coach, Manager, Mentor, Teacher, Impediment Removeror, and Change Agent (Overeem, The 8 Stances of a Scrum Master, 2017). In the following paragraphs, we will be focusing on the Scrum master as a change agent stance.
6 Characteristics of Change Agent
The picture below presents six characteristics of a Scrum Master as Change Agent. In the next part of the article, each characteristic will be described.
Clear Vision
Typically, any successful change involves having a clear change vision. This vision provides people with a clear picture of what the organisation will look like after significant changes have been made. It also highlights the opportunities they can seize once these changes are implemented. Motivating and inspiring, a change vision is essential for any successful transformation you aim to achieve. (Kotter contributor, 2013)
In high-uncertainty environments, conveying a clear and compelling vision can provide direction and inspiration during turbulent times (Eric Kearney, 2019). The Scrum Master does not always create the vision; sometimes, they contribute to it or provide feedback on an existing vision. This is typically the case during organization-wide agile or digital transformations when multiple teams are involved in larger cultural changes and developing or enhancing new capabilities at the organisational or business unit level. Still, the Scrum Master should align with and be able to share the vision within the Scrum Team and to other members of the organisation.
Patient yet persistent
We must maintain a delicate balance of persistence and patience to achieve the change vision. A change agent must be patient regarding people, processes, and organisational capabilities. Not every concept will hit the ground running; at times, we must patiently wait for the outcomes to implement changes successfully and see results.
We need to take into account that each organisation has its unique level of absorption of change. Organisational absorption is the process by which an organisation acquires, assimilates, and integrates new knowledge, skills, or technologies into its existing operations, structures, and culture. This process is essential for organisations to remain competitive and innovative in a rapidly changing business environment (Cio-Wiki, 2023).
The importance of persistence in implementing change cannot be overstated. Successful Scrum Masters and Agile Leaders are persistent; they maintain a long-term perspective and understand that success takes time. In Scrum, we use the concept of Sprints. However, we still need to remember that the business success of the Scrum team is not a short-term phenomenon—it’s typically a marathon containing multiple successful Sprints.
Persistence is the driving force behind achieving lasting results. It is the motivation that will see you through to the end and make you successful in the long term. The ‘never say never’ attitude ensures that you’re the one who will support change implementation.
The balance between patience and persistence is crucial. Too much patience can lead to stagnation, where the organisation and people maintain the status quo. On the other hand, being overly persistent, especially at the beginning of a process, can strain relationships. This typically reduces the depth of change and may result in a temporary approach rather than lasting improvements.
Asks tough questions
Asking tough questions that force us to think deeply about our beliefs and actions is probably one of the most powerful coaching skills that Scrum Master can use as a catalyst, enabler, and support for change. Tough questions can be used to address when coaching individuals, teams, or organisation (Overeem, The Scrum Master as a Coach , 2015). A thoughtful question in a coaching context provokes reflection, encourages deeper understanding, promotes self-discovery, and can ultimately lead to transformative insights and actions. When used effectively, questioning can catalyse self-discovery, facilitate growth and change, and enhance decision-making and problem-solving abilities.
However, questioning is not a fixed skill; it requires continuous learning, refinement, and adaptation to each unique coaching relationship. (Pickford, 2023). To be a high-impact change agent, you need to excel at asking the right questions.
They can take many different forms, and while asking them of other people can help others change, do not forget to ask the questions to yourself, as you, as a change agent, might also need to change.
Knowledgeable leads by example
A knowledge structure is a straightforward and descriptive model representing knowledge within a body of information. The basic components of this body are referred to as questions or problems, which any individual can understand and solve (Doignon, 1994). In the business world, knowledge is a powerful asset. It fuels innovation, drives growth, and contributes to success. However, knowledge cannot simply be purchased or replaced; it must be carefully curated, cultivated, managed, and shared within an organisation.
Leading by example is widely accepted as a foundational principle of leadership. This principle requires leaders to model the type of behaviour they expect “followers” to adopt (Gill, 2021).
If a Scrum Master or any other Agile leader acts in ways that contradict key objectives, values, and norms related to the change they are supporting, this creates a sense of incompatibility, which typically undermines the process of implementing that change.
A Scrum Master is a process manager. They are accountable for establishing Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide. They do this by helping everyone understand Scrum theory and practice, both within the Scrum Team and the organisation. (Ken Schwaber, 2020)
To be an effective and efficient Change Agent, a Scrum Master needs to be knowledgeable about Scrum and complementary practices and role-model the behaviours, values, and principles related to Scrum, agility, and Lean.
(Sterre K. Ruitenburg, 2025) Suggests that, after the initial acquisition of skills, problem-solving practice leads to better long-term performance than simply studying examples. This is especially true for relatively complex tasks, even when instructions are limited. Therefore, the assumption can be made that leading by example in solving complex problems is likely the most effective strategy to adopt.
Strong relationships built on trust
One of the most valuable assets of each Scrum team is the people working in it. It is not a coincidence that one of the four values mentioned in the Agile Manifesto is related to people and interactions. The socio-cultural and social aspects of interpersonal relations are important. One of the most effective ways to profoundly impact as a change agent is to build strong relationships with people involved and affected by the changes. The key lies in establishing social capital and positioning yourself as a trusted advisor rather than a mere order taker. Workplace relationships are about building connections that enable us to work together seamlessly. We build relationships on respect, trust and honesty.
Scrum Masters’s true leadership is not only about serving the Scrum Team but also the larger organisation. In the longer run, establishing a trustworthy environment can be beneficial not only for the Scrum team but also for the organisation. Compared with people at low-trust companies, people at high-trust companies report 74% less stress, 106% more energy at work, 50% higher productivity, 13% fewer sick days, 76% more engagement, 29% more satisfaction with their lives, and 40% less burnout. (Zak, 2015)
Evolve experimentally
Very often, authors writing about change appear to take the perspective, or bias, of those seeking to bring about change, in which it is presumed change agents are doing the right things. At the same time, change recipients throw up unreasonable obstacles or barriers intent on “doing in” or “screwing up” the change. Accordingly, change agents are portrayed as undeserving victims of the irrational and dysfunctional responses of change recipients (Ford, 2008), which is not always the case. Somehow, change agents are often attached to the changes they propose, and they might not remember that not all changes will bring good business results. As a consequence, when possible and reasonable, we should instead use the Kaizen approach.
Kaizen, often associated with the Toyota Corporation, emphasises continuous improvement. In Kaizen, we make small changes whenever possible and focus on improving in many incremental steps. Control is maintained at the team level, while leadership focuses on coaching and facilitating those improvements (Rother, 2011). This approach fosters an environment where we can safely conduct experiments. Even if the results of an experiment do not match our expectations, it is relatively easy and inexpensive to revert the changes made. Kaizen provides predictability in managing controlled changes within complex environments.
Conclusion
Scrum Master accountability exists in a particular setting concerning other scrum accountabilities and stakeholders. One of the most challenging stances of a Scrum Master is to become an effective change agent. This article outlines six characteristics of a Scrum Master as a change agent that can help navigate various circumstances during change agents’ activities. These characteristics are signs that actively support anyone who acts as a catalyst, enabler, and supporter of change.
In the future, we are likely to see more operational transformations toward product-oriented organizations. (Rola, 2024) Many of these organizations are likely familiar with Scrum and may already have a Scrum Master in place. To enhance their effectiveness, it’s essential to have a Scrum Master who can act as a strong change agent. Investing in this skill set can greatly benefit Scrum Masters and Agile leaders. Organizations should consider actively seeking out individuals with these competencies in the market to foster continuous improvement and drive success.
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Bibliography
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