The Scrum Master is an amazing and at the same time very challenging role. He needs to have different skills, and depending on the situation put on a teaching, training, facilitating or a coaching hat. Furthermore, each of those skills is very difficult to master. People may spend their entire professional life improving just one of them (becoming a Professional Coach or a Facilitator etc.).
Is the Scrum Master a Coach?
Coaching is an important and necessary skill for every Scrum Master. There is no need to delegate additional responsibilities or give him a new title (f.e. "Agile Coach") for practicing it. It’s already defined in the Scrum Guide.
The Scrum Master is:
- Coaching the Development Team in self-organization and cross-functionality;
- Coaching the Development Team in organizational environments in which Scrum is not yet fully adopted and understood.
- Leading and coaching the organization in its Scrum adoption;
(Scrum Guide, July 2013)
The Scrum Master IS already a Coach by definition.
Do we need Agile Coaches then?
My answer is ‘YES’ - we definitely need Agile Coaches, and first I want every Scrum Master to become an Agile Coach. Thus, we as a Scrum community need to demand more from the Scrum Masters and challenge them.
Please, stop thinking about a Scrum Master as just an impediment remover. There’s so much more about this role.