‘Extended Empathy’ practiced by Scrum Masters
An unspoken anti-pattern across many organizations trying to embrace Scrum
Beginning this blog post defining ‘Empathy’ borrowing from ‘Merriam-Webster’ dictionary online:
“Empathy is the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner”
Now in the context of Scrum, how to define ‘Extended Empathy’?
The role of Scrum Master is that of a Servant Leader creating space to genuinely care for the individuals in the Scrum Master and the environment in which they do operate.
This is due to the fact that the success of a Scrum Master depends on the success of the Scrum Team. Providing care for the individuals in the team translates to the act of helping solve their problems and work towards creating an environment to live up to the Scrum values. None of these is done with authority on the people in the Scrum Team.
This attitude of the Scrum Master caring and working closely creates very little space to provide honest feedback to the team. There is always an element of discomfort on whether such honest feedback might hurt the team or get interpreted in the wrong way.
Extended Empathy: The act of practicing empathy too much and unable to
- Respond appropriately in social situations
- Regulate their own emotions
- Promote any helping behaviors with rationale
- Express when people aren’t being honest
The above-mentioned pattern is possible with Scrum Masters when they are challenged by power or recklessness or organizational politics in living up to the Scrum values.
What are the possible symptoms of ‘Extended Empathy’ practiced by Scrum Masters?
- Accepting and aligning to the current ways of working and associated decisions made in the organization which may or may not help the Scrum Team to progress.
- Acknowledging the existing team behaviors even if they go against Scrum values (Courage, Focus, Commitment, Respect, and Openness)
- Not holding the individuals part of the team accountable for the rules defined by Scrum. These are those traits not encouraged undermining the power of Scrum.
What should the Scrum Master do otherwise instead of practicing Extended Empathy?
Instead of putting out the red carpet for all the incumbent ineffectiveness, the Scrum Master should encourage to look out for the following:
- Are we doing the right things and making them transparent to the right people?
- Is there a mindset for continuous inspecting and adapting?
- Are Scrum’s values truly valued and how they are demonstrated?
Providing a little more emphasis on the Scrum values, this is how the Scrum Guide puts it.
“People personally commit to achieving the goals of the Scrum Team. The Scrum Team members have the courage to do the right thing and work on tough problems. Everyone focuses on the work of the Sprint and the goals of the Scrum Team. The Scrum Team and its stakeholders agree to be open about all the work and the challenges with performing the work. Scrum Team members respect each other to be capable, independent people.”
Wrap Up!
Is there an excuse for a Scrum Master not to challenge the status quo due to practicing extended empathy?
Definitely not! Excuses by Scrum Master for leaning on (similar to ‘Extended Empathy’) such an anti-pattern is only going to compromise the transparency and visibility needed to measure progress. This, in turn, challenge the mindset to frequently inspect and adapt.
Where are you putting the next red carpet at? Are you aware of what you trading off with extended empathy?
Share your views and feedback in the comments section.
