Regular or irregular One-on-Ones Scrum Masters with developers, the PO or stakeholders can be very helpful in coaching teams, but which questions are good for this? Let's explore some good questions and food for thought together.
Scrum Master One on One
A few tips for your one-on-one
The tips I am giving you take place on different levels. But accordingly, you can also apply them on different levels. Let's start with the first tip!
1.: The power of open questions
In psychology, we know that open questions often provide deeper insights. Instead of asking "Do you have difficulties in the team?", try "What challenges do you see in working with the team?". This openness encourages honest conversations and strengthens the connection between you and your Scrum Master.
2. The emotional level
Leading an agile team requires not only setting goals, but also understanding individual perspectives. A simple question that helps here is: "How do you feel (for example, about the latest developments in the team)?".
3. The connection between agile values and personal growth:
The agile manifesto emphasizes the value of individuals and interactions. This fits well with possible questions. Ask your interviewees how they would like to grow personally and professionally and how this fits in with their current situation.
4. More questions than answers
Imagine your developer says they are having difficulties with their own work focus. Your tendency might be to directly suggest solutions – but I wouldn't recommend that. Focus on the analysis, ask good questions. But don't get caught up in providing answers yet. Your questions alone could help to give the other person ideas for solutions.
In principle, the procedure is exactly the same as in a good agile retrospective!
5. The balance between challenge and support:
In psychology, we speak of the "zone of optimal development". Ask your counterpart what kind of support they need to work effectively and how you can challenge them at the same time to develop their full potential.
Before we get to a longer list of one-to-one questions, I would like to draw your attention to our free performance review templates in the Echometer tool. These focus on the psychological preconditions of successful teamwork, help to achieve more measurability in the development process of Scrum Masters and software developers and can be filled out interactively. Feel free to take a look:
1:1 Meeting Tool Template: Mood as weather
- If you had to describe your emotional state as the weather, how is the weather in your project or your tasks at the moment?
How is the weather in relation to your employer, your personal life and your private life?
1:1 Meeting Tool Template: Mood as weather
- If you had to describe your emotional state as the weather, how is the weather in your project or your tasks at the moment?
How is the weather in relation to your employer, your personal life and your private life?
Here is a series of specific questions that usually bring out interesting points.
Scrum Master One on One
Questions that elicit new information
"How are you currently doing in your role?"
- This question allows the other person to talk about personal challenges or successes and creates an open discussion atmosphere.
"What specific goals would you like to achieve in the next few months?"
- Focuses on the individual goals of the colleague and supports the setting of clear expectations.
"Are there specific resources or support you need for your work?"
- This makes it clear whether your counterpart has all the necessary resources to work effectively and successfully.
"How do you feel about working in a team?"
- Enables the identification of potential conflicts or opportunities for improvement in the team climate.
"What new skills or knowledge would you like to develop?"
- Promotes individual professional development and shows the employer's interest in the employee's further development.
"Are you proud of your recent successes?"
- Gives employees the opportunity to be proud of their achievements and thus promotes positive self-confidence.
"What changes or suggestions do you have for the work processes in the team?"
- Underlines the appreciation of your interviewee's opinion and encourages commitment to continuous improvement. At best, these things are known from retrospectives, for example – but who knows...
"How would you rate your work-life balance at the moment?"
- Sensitizes to the employee's well-being and enables adjustments to be made where necessary to improve the balance.
"What steps can we take together to support your career goals?"
- Emphasizes partnership in career development and shows the employer's interest in the employee's long-term success.
Scrum Master One on One
Data as a helpful basis for discussion
Concrete work results and related data can also be a good basis for your One on One. For example, you could look at the Jira board together or talk about the last agile retrospectives.
Furthermore, agile Health Check metrics that measure the satisfaction of the team over a longer period of time can also be an exciting basis for discussion. This is where our Echometer tool comes into play.
Welcome to Echometer: Echometer is a digital tool that helps agile team leads with agile retrospectives and team Health Checks. Whether remote, hybrid or on-site: We make team coaching measurable and thus professionalize your work, while saving you a lot of work on the side. Just take a look at our website to find out more: www.echometerapp.com.
"A friend loves you for who you are. A coach loves you too much to let you be who you are."
Scrum Master One on One
Conclusion: It all depends on the questions
Finally, here's a hint: If you want to try out how it feels to develop your Scrum Master and other team members with our one-on-one meeting software: You can start a one-on-one meeting below, in this case an exercise from our template library: Say No!
Alternatively, simply forward our website to the responsible colleagues: www.echometerapp.com.
Open Feedback Questions
Reflect: What are good reasons to say "no" when someone asks you to do something?
Collect examples: When was the last time you said "no" when someone asked you to do something? In which situations would you have liked to say "no" but didn't?
Tools: What phrases or questions can be helpful when someone wants you to do something?
