Professional Scrum Master Scrum Master as Leader Questions and Answers

Question 1

A Scrum Team consistently fails to meet its Sprint Goal because of dependencies on another team that is not using Scrum and frequently delivers their part late. What is the most effective leadership action for the Scrum Master to take?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a meeting between the two teams to create a shared understanding and a working agreement.

Answer

A Scrum Master acts as a leader by addressing organizational impediments. The most effective approach is to facilitate communication and collaboration between the involved parties to find a mutual solution. This empowers the teams to solve their own problems and improves the system they work in. Escalating immediately, accepting the problem, or telling the team to work harder disempowers them and fails to address the root cause.

Question 2

Which of the following actions demonstrates a Scrum Master acting as a leader rather than a manager?

Accepted Answer

Coaching the Developers on how to facilitate their own Daily Scrum effectively.

Answer

A leader empowers and enables, while a manager often directs and controls. Coaching the Developers to self-manage their own events is a key leadership activity that builds the team's capabilities and fosters ownership. The other options represent a more traditional, directive management style that undermines the Scrum Team's self-management and accountability.

Question 3

During a Sprint Retrospective, two Developers have a disagreement that becomes a heated argument about a technical approach. The rest of the team falls silent. How should a Scrum Master best demonstrate leadership in this situation?

Accepted Answer

Remind the team of the Scrum Values and facilitate a constructive conversation focused on the issue, not the people.

Answer

A Scrum Master leads by coaching the team in self-management and collaboration. In this case, the leader's role is to facilitate a difficult conversation, bringing the focus back to professional respect and collaborative problem-solving, guided by the Scrum Values (like Respect and Openness). This helps the team learn to resolve conflicts themselves and builds psychological safety. Deciding for them or ending the meeting abruptly avoids the problem rather than helping the team grow.

Question 4

A functional manager, who is not part of the Scrum Team, is consistently giving a Developer tasks that are not in the Sprint Backlog. This is jeopardizing the Sprint Goal. What is the Scrum Master's most appropriate leadership action?

Accepted Answer

Have a conversation with the manager to explain how their actions impact the Scrum Team's focus and the Sprint Goal.

Answer

A Scrum Master leads by protecting the team's ability to focus and by helping the organization understand Scrum. The most effective leadership action is to address the impediment directly with the manager, explaining the 'why' behind Scrum's principles (like focus and commitment to a Sprint Goal). This is an opportunity to coach the manager and improve the organizational environment for the team.

Question 5

In what primary way does a Scrum Master provide leadership to the wider organization?

Accepted Answer

By planning, instigating, and helping to lead the organization's adoption of Scrum.

Answer

A key accountability of the Scrum Master, as described in the Scrum Guide, is to lead, train, and coach the organization in its Scrum adoption. This involves helping employees and stakeholders understand and enact an empirical approach for complex work, which is a significant leadership function that extends beyond the immediate Scrum Team.

Professional Scrum Master Practice Test

Professional Scrum Master Practice Test

Professional Scrum Master Scrum Master as Leader Questions and Answers