Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast

Armin Mandara: When Harmony Hinders Progress, Learning to Trigger Difficult Conversations Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. Armin shares his experience with one of his initial teams, responsible for QA and user acceptance. The team lacked cross-functionality and faced uneven work distribution. Communication about improvements was scarce, leading to stagnant progress. Some stakeholders provided no feedback, and the team maintained a facade of contentment. Armin observed a reluctance to engage in conflict and recognized the team's collective unawareness of necessary improvements. Even if in one-on-one meetings, individuals were more candid, they did not raise the topics in a wider group. Armin advises addressing issues individually to gauge openness for discussion. The team's absence of external pressure hindered growth, reflecting the challenge of balancing harmon