I believe Scrum Masters should continually try new things. Since the season is Fall here in the Northeast United States, I figured why not bring in some seasonal change. And something from the outdoors, since we are all stuck in the office far too long anyway.
You all probably heard about the idea of giving a ball to the team and they pass it around as the talk in the Daily Scrum. Well for the Fall Season I picked a bunch of gourds and have the team members pass that around just to be silly and have fun.
However, I did something different. I give them 4 gourds to choose from. Why the different gourds you might ask?
I want them to make decisions and get into the habit of doing so.
The teammate makes the decision on which gourd to pass around. It was a self directed decision. Oh no the team made a decision on their own, say it is not so! It is a fast and not a long drawn out decision and everyone survives another day.
I also added a non-seasonal change. I use a random number generator to pick who would start the daily scrum. Yes some teams are at a point where anyone can get it started, but this way the leader now changes randomly and everyday. They all have to come prepared because no one knows who goes first. I like my teams to be used to change.
They all have to lead and not be followers all the time.
Happy Halloween
Greg Mester
