These days, it’s quite common to come across a role that is a mixture of Scrum Mastery and Line Management. In the IT world, each one doesn’t always warrant a dedicated role and therefore they are often merged into one. I have worked with both roles simultaneously for a while and have faced several challenges. I’ve always approached each one using the principles below. This is purely my opinion and from my experience, but I hold steadfast to these and have seen success.
Trust
Probably the most important for me, it’s absolutely essential for myself to trust an employee and for them to trust me as a Scrum Master and Line Manager. There are several methods to ensure there is trust, one of which is the next point. Without trust, you can lose your employee’s confidence in you, which will soon lead to a lack of productivity, disengagement and ultimately, an employee resigning.
Early, Open & Honest Communication
Almost goes hand in hand with trust. Always communicate openly and honestly about everything. Well, almost everything. I can understand there are situations which require confidentiality, and these must be handled with care. This even helps build trust as well, especially as your employees feel they are able to confide in you. However, on plenty of other issues, it’s usually fine to communicate early, openly and honestly. As someone in a management role, you have to take the initiative in communicating.
People, People, People
Your employees are people. They breathe, they are human, so interact with them! Be friendly, listen to them like a human, speak to them like a human. They may have problems outside of work that need listening to. They may just want to feel respected in their roles. Sure, there are management styles where friends only exist outside of the work place, but this is counter-productive in my opinion. Sometimes a person just needs someone to listen to their problem for 5 minutes while they get it off their chest. I think it depends on your working environment – I have been fortunate to experience the full spectrum, from extremely social all the way to full-on corporate. Friendly wins all the time in my books.
Make Time, Invest
Linked to the above point, be sure to make time for your employees. Don’t be the manager who is always in meetings and never at his/her desk. Don’t be the manager who never finds the time to have 121s, or always delays an employee’s appraisal because you’re too busy. Making time for your employees goes a long way and is an investment in the long term. A series of productive 121 meetings or not having them at all could be the difference an employee feels comfortable in a company or not. Ultimately, it could be the reason they decide whether or not to stay.
Following these four principles has so far worked well for me, especially in a role where there are clear conflicts of interest. I’d be very much interested to hear what works for other people too. I hope these are useful to you too. Get in touch if you’re in a similar position and let me know how you deal with the conflicts.