Table of Contents
Scrum Values: The Cornerstone of a Collaborative Work Environment
What does your ideal work environment look like? Take a moment to picture it. Is it supportive? Focused? Respectful? Now imagine these qualities embedded into your daily work routine—this is where Scrum Values come into play.
Before diving into Scrum, let’s step back and think about the choices we make in our workplaces. What do you love about your job? What would you change? Often, we gravitate toward environments where colleagues support each other, where focus and clarity drive decisions, and where respect and honesty form the foundation.
In Scrum, all these ideas converge into five essential values: Commitment, Focus, Openness, Respect, and Courage (read more: Scrum Guide 2020). These values don’t just shape how Scrum teams operate—they create the foundation for an inspiring and effective workplace.
Scrum Values
Watch the Video for a Complete Overview!
Commitment: Support Builds Strength
Think about this: Can you truly be committed to your work if you lack support from your team? Whether you’re a newcomer or an experienced professional, a supportive environment fosters genuine commitment. In Scrum, commitment means not just showing up but actively contributing to your team’s goals and well-being. It’s about saying, “We’re in this together.”
Focus: Priorities that Drive Progress
Ever felt overwhelmed with tasks? Scrum emphasizes focus, ensuring that you know what to tackle now and what to address next. It’s about staying concentrated on delivering value and avoiding distractions. This clarity keeps teams aligned and on track.
Openness: Embracing Honesty and Inclusivity
Openness in Scrum isn’t just about transparency—it’s about creating an environment where people feel safe to share ideas, give feedback, and collaborate authentically. We’re all human, with unique personalities and emotions. By fostering openness, Scrum teams build trust and strengthen communication, leading to better outcomes.
Respect: A Non-Negotiable Value
Respect is at the heart of every successful team. It’s about appreciating each person’s individuality, preferences, and contributions. Whether you’re a sushi lover or a pizza enthusiast, a metalhead or a pop fan, respect allows us to work together despite our differences. Scrum teams thrive when mutual respect underpins every interaction.
Courage: Taking on Challenges Together
Courage in Scrum isn’t about being a superhero; it’s about embracing challenges, presenting new ideas, and learning from mistakes. It takes courage to innovate, deliver a product increment, or even admit when something doesn’t work. In Scrum, courage empowers teams to grow and succeed.
Why Scrum Values Matter
When I first encountered Scrum Values, they seemed like a list to memorize. But over time, I realized they’re much more than words—they’re principles that guide how teams collaborate and thrive. Commitment, Focus, Openness, Respect, and Courage are interconnected, forming the backbone of Scrum and helping teams achieve extraordinary results.
In your journey with Scrum, these values are not just ideals—they’re practical tools to create the work environment you’ve always envisioned.
What do Scrum Values mean to you? Let me know in the comments!
Applying Scrum Values in Real-Life Scenarios
Scrum Values aren’t just theoretical concepts—they shape how teams collaborate and navigate challenges. Let’s dive into an example that highlights their practical application:
Imagine you’re working on a product, and user feedback suggests that the UI could benefit from improvements. Drawing on your UI/UX expertise, you develop a list of redesign recommendations and a plan to enhance the layout and navigation. However, your suggestion is initially overlooked by the team. Instead of getting discouraged, you respect the decision and bring up your ideas during the Sprint Retrospective.
Here’s how Scrum Values come into play in this situation:
Commitment: Staying True to the Goal
Your commitment shines through as you focus on the product goal and the team’s ability to adapt and improve. By challenging yourself and the team, you embrace the principles of self-organization and seek both support and opportunities to support others. This mindset is vital for continuous improvement.
Focus: Prioritizing the Right Discussions
You remain focused on the bigger picture, understanding the best time to raise your ideas is during the Sprint Retrospective. This ensures your input aligns with the team’s collective learning and improvement process. By concentrating on meaningful discussions at the right moments, you contribute to the team’s success.
Openness: Sharing Ideas Freely
Openness means being transparent and willing to share your thoughts, even when they might not be immediately accepted. By presenting your ideas and remaining open to feedback and changes, you foster a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement.
Respect: Valuing Team Decisions
Even when your suggestions are not initially implemented, you respect the team’s decision and bring your concerns to the appropriate forum. Respect ensures every team member feels heard, creating an inclusive environment where diverse perspectives are valued.
Courage: Advocating for Change
It takes courage to voice suggestions, especially when they challenge the status quo. By advocating for changes based on user feedback and raising potentially sensitive topics during team discussions, you demonstrate the bravery needed to drive innovation and improvement.
Take the First Step with Art's Scrum Services
When Scrum Values Are Overlooked
While the ideal scenario reflects the strength of Scrum Values, let’s consider what happens when these principles are neglected:
- Commitment may waver, leading to quick fixes instead of striving for long-term improvements.
- Focus may shift away from productive discussions during Scrum Events, prioritizing efficiency at the expense of team growth.
- Openness might be replaced by resistance to change, stifling innovation.
- Respect could falter if constructive criticism and team suggestions are dismissed, creating a culture of disregard.
- Courage may be lacking if teams avoid addressing user feedback or challenging existing norms.
In such cases, the Scrum Framework loses its essence, and the team’s ability to adapt and succeed is compromised.
Trust: The Foundation of Scrum Values
At the heart of Scrum Values lies trust. Building trust within a Scrum Team and with stakeholders requires consistently embodying these values. While building trust is no easy task, following Scrum Values can make the process more achievable.
Remember, it’s not about assigning blame when values are overlooked—it’s about understanding the context and striving for better alignment. By committing to these principles, teams create an environment where innovation, growth, and success thrive.
How do you see Scrum Values influencing trust in your team? Let’s discuss in the comments!
So, Why Scrum Values Matter
Why are Scrum Values so essential? Why would disregarding them undermine trust? And why doesn’t Scrum exist without its values?
The answer lies in one word: environment. The working environment we create has a profound impact on collaboration, innovation, and trust. Commitment, Focus, Openness, Respect, and Courage form the foundation of Scrum, shaping not only how teams function but also how they grow. Ignoring these values risks weakening trust and diminishing the benefits of implementing Scrum.
A Daily Challenge to Live by Scrum Values
Understanding and living by Scrum Values isn’t a one-time exercise—it’s a daily commitment. Every day offers an opportunity to explore these principles and apply them in new and meaningful ways. When your company embraces the Scrum Framework, these values should remain at the forefront, guiding every decision and interaction.
Disregarding Scrum Values can create cracks in the foundation of trust within a team. Without trust, the collaboration and innovation that Scrum fosters simply can’t thrive.
Enjoyed this article on Scrum?
Support My Work!
A Real-Life Case: Trust and Scrum Values in Action
Let’s take an example to see how Scrum Values (or the lack thereof) play out in real life.
During a Sprint Retrospective, a new Scrum Developer shared that her ideas were consistently ignored by the rest of the team, including the Product Owner, during her first Sprint. Poe, a Product Owner, offered his insights on this situation:
“From my perspective as a Product Owner, I’d investigate how the Scrum Developer’s ideas align with the product goal and the budget. But based on this example, it seems her ideas haven’t even been inspected. This suggests a neglect of Commitment, as the team isn’t supporting her contributions or fostering collaboration.
The team is also disregarding her Courage—she’s bravely voicing suggestions and possibly raising sensitive concerns, yet she’s being ignored. Additionally, there’s a lack of Openness, as the team appears unwilling to investigate or accept new challenges. Instead of outright ignoring someone, it’s better to review their ideas and provide constructive feedback.
Finally, ignoring someone’s input shows a lack of Respect, as it dismisses their insights, skills, and experiences. Without these core values, it’s impossible to build trust.”
Poe’s analysis highlights how neglecting Scrum Values erodes trust and creates barriers to effective teamwork. The solution? Embracing and embodying these values every day.
No Acronyms, Just Values
Scrum Values—Commitment, Focus, Openness, Respect, and Courage—aren’t just theoretical concepts. They’re the lifeblood of Scrum. Without them, Scrum simply cannot exist.
It’s worth noting how intentional these values are: no acronyms, no shortcuts, just clear and meaningful principles. Imagine trying to use a forced acronym like CAFCO (Commitment, Appreciation, Focus, Courage, Openness)—it just wouldn’t work! Instead, these five words are simple, impactful, and easy to remember.
Building Trust with Scrum Values
Ultimately, Scrum Values build trust. Trust isn’t something you achieve once and forget about—it’s an ongoing process, requiring consistent effort from every team member. By embodying these five values, teams create an environment where trust flourishes, innovation thrives, and challenges are embraced.
How do you apply Scrum Values in your team? Share your thoughts in the comments below!