Scrum Master vs Team Leader: A Scrum Master and a Team Lead have different roles and responsibilities in the agile context, although there may be some overlap depending on the organization and how they structure their teams. Below you will find some differences between the two roles.
I'll also take a closer look at when and how it might be possible to perform both roles at the same time. This much in advance: it's not ideal.
Scrum Master vs. Team Leader
Differences between Team Leaders and Scrum Masters
First of all, according to the Scrum Guide, there is no team leader in a Scrum team – there is only a Scrum Master, a Product Owner and the development team. However, this is often observed differently in practice.
So here are some fundamental differences between a Scrum Master and a Team Leader. One thing should be said – they are of course simplistic and are certainly not always practiced in exactly the same way.
Focus on process vs. focus on results:
- The Scrum Master focuses primarily on the Scrum process and ensuring that the team follows the agile principles and Scrum guidelines. The focus is on removing obstacles, improving productivity and optimizing the process.
- A Team Leader, on the other hand, is more focused on achieving team goals and results. The team leader often takes on a leadership role to ensure that the team achieves its goals and works together efficiently. In addition, they often have a technical background, for example as a Senior Developer, and may also have the goal of developing Junior Developers professionally – but less humanly.
Responsibilities:
- The Scrum Master is responsible for ensuring that the team understands the Scrum process, adheres to it and continuously improves it. The focus is on creating an optimal environment for the team.
- A Team Leader is more responsible for the performance and results of the team. This can include resource planning, goal setting, performance reviews and general team leadership.
Team leadership vs. facilitation:
- The Team Leader has more of an active role in team management and gives clear instructions to ensure that the team achieves its goals. The Team Lead may also be responsible for the career development of team members.
- The Scrum Master, on the other hand, takes on more of a supportive and facilitative role. Their focus is on creating an environment in which the team can work autonomously and removing obstacles that could hinder progress.
Authority and decision-making power:
- A Team Leader usually has more authority and decision-making power compared to the Scrum Master. Team Leads can have direct authority to make decisions and manage resources.
- The Scrum Master generally has no direct decision-making authority over the work of the team, but rather works to ensure that the team is self-organized. Obstacles are identified and passed on to the appropriate people to be resolved.
Hierarchy and authority:
- Scrum Masters: As a rule, the Scrum Master has no disciplinary authority over the team members. Their authority is based more on influence and coaching.
- Team Lead: The team leader often has disciplinary responsibility and can have a direct influence on the career development of team members.
Objective:
- Scrum Masters: The main goal of the Scrum Master is the continuous improvement of the team and the agile process.
- Team Lead: The Team Leader aims to maximize the team's effectiveness in achieving professional goals.
Scrum Master vs. Team Leader
Scrum Master and Team Leader: What you need to consider
As mentioned above, it is no longer classic Scrum if you have a classic Team Leader role in the team.
Nevertheless, many companies do things differently and may have both roles. If this is the case, for better or worse – what should you bear in mind?
Time burden:
- Both roles require time and commitment. The danger is that the person becomes overloaded, especially if the demands and responsibilities of both roles in an organization are high.
Potential for conflict:
- Conflicts could arise between the requirements and priorities of the two roles. For example, the focus on process optimization (Scrum Master) could be at odds with technical leadership and decision-making (Team Lead).
Conflicts of interest:
- It may be difficult to act objectively and impartially, especially when it comes to disciplinary matters or individual performance appraisals.
Self-organization of the team:
- One of the main tasks of the Scrum Master is to enable the team to organize itself. If the same person is also the technical lead, care must be taken to ensure that the team's self-organization is not impaired.
Clarification of roles:
- It is important to define clear expectations and boundaries for the two roles so that the team and the organization understand how responsibilities are divided.
Further training and support:
- It can be helpful to get training or support in both roles to ensure that the person is familiar with both the latest agile practices and the necessary technical skills.
Ongoing reflection and adaptation:
- It is important to regularly reflect and review how effectively the dual role is being performed. Adjustments may be necessary to ensure that both aspects of the role are adequately addressed.
The right tools:
- There are certainly tools that can make the work of both a Team Lead and a Scrum Master drastically more efficient, such as Echometer (more on this below). These tools should be actively used.
There can be advantages to having one person in both roles, such as a stronger integration of technical and procedural leadership. However, the challenges and potential conflicts mentioned above should be borne in mind. In some organizations, this dual role is deliberately chosen, while others make a strict distinction between the two positions.
The next graphic leads well into our next section – a little tip: One-to-one meetings are one of your biggest levers to make your team successful in both roles.
Scrum Master vs. Team Lead
Making dual castors more efficient with tools
Continuous improvement is one of the core topics of the Scrum Master – and is often neglected if the role is only practiced on the side. In this case, Echometer can help. It has been specially developed for teams that may not have a dedicated full-time Scrum Master for their team.
On the one hand, Echometer helps with team coaching with a retrospective tool, but also with a one-to-one meeting tool. It focuses on making any team leads from agile teams that have regular one-to-one meetings more efficient.
Make your 1:1 meetings exciting, measure trends and above all, make progress in the development of your software developers!
Try out one of our templates, see below. The following template is a standard template for bi-weekly one-to-one meetings, for example. It also includes a measurable "mood check" at the end, which you can of course customize:
👋 Welcome & Icebreaker
- What is the weather like in your project / tasks at the moment?
📕 Topics Employee [name]
- ...
👈 Executive topics
- What went well?
- Challenges?
- Next priorities?
⁉️ Mood check (survey)
Scrum Master vs. Team Lead
Conclusion - Scrum Master and Team Lead
Finally, another quick hint: If you would like to know how it feels to develop your team with our tool: You can start an agile retrospective below without logging in, in this case the "Keep, Stop, Start" workshop.
Alternatively, simply forward our website to the responsible colleagues: www.echometerapp.com.
