The Scrum framework has five values: commitment, courage, focus, openness, and respect — but, like many organizational values, Scrum values are frequently written off as an interesting side note in the executive summary of Scrum, but are rarely understood or properly used. In my nearly 20 years of coaching teams and organizations, most failures are caused by ignoring the values that support Scrum. Bottom line: the values of Scrum are critically important to the success of scrum teams. If you want to improve your chances of reaping the benefits of agility, you must understand and embrace Scrum values.

Scrum masters need to help team members understand the scrum values and how they can be put into practice. In this article, we will explore each Scrum values, what it means, why it’s important, and how the decisions we make can support or undermine the value.

Scrum Value: Commitment

Commitment means having the discipline to see something through to completion, even when it’s difficult. It also means being willing to put in the extra effort required to meet a goal. To be truly agile, scrum teams need to be committed to continuous improvement and delivery of value. When faced with a difficult problem or challenge, scrum teams need to be committed to finding a solution.

Why is commitment important?

Commitment is important because it allows scrum teams to focus on the task at hand and not get sidetracked by other distractions. It also helps scrum teams to stay motivated and avoid burnout. Studies have also shown that teams where commitment plays an important role can become highly-effective teams, whereas teams where commitment is not important do not become highly-effective teams.

How can you make commitment real?

There are many ways to make commitment real. You can

• Encourage team members to set personal goals and then work together to achieve those goals.
• Provide opportunities for team members to share their stories of when they were committed to a goal and what the outcome was.
• Remind team members they succeed or fail together – pointing fingers is not allowed.
• Work with management to get your team members fully committed to your team instead of being on multiple teams (in other words, instead of moving people from team to team, bring the work being done to your team and keep the people in one place).

When scrum masters make commitment real for their scrum team, the team will work more effectively, will leverage each other’s strengths and compensate for known weaknesses more efficiently.

Scrum Value: Courage

Courage is about having the strength to do what is right, even when it is difficult. It also means being able to stand up for what you believe in, even when it is unpopular.

Why is courage important?

Courage is important because it allows scrum teams to take risks and innovate. Without courage, scrum teams would be stuck doing things the way they have always been done and would never improve or change. Courage also allows scrum teams to have difficult conversations that need to be had in order to move forward.

How can you make courage real?

There are many ways to make courage real. You can

• Encourage team members to share their stories of when they were courageous and what the outcome was.
• Provide opportunities for team members to practice being courageous in a safe environment. When mistakes are made, the team’s focus is on correcting the mistake and ensuring it can’t happen again, NOT making the person who made the mistake feel badly.
• Remind team members that they are not alone – everyone makes mistakes and it is okay to ask for help.

When scrum masters make courage real for their scrum team, the team is more likely to find and correct problems more quickly, while also learning from those problems and, eventually, making fewer critical mistakes.

Scrum Value: Focus

Focus means being able to concentrate on what is important and not getting distracted by other things. It also means being able to say no to things that will not help you achieve your goal.

Why is focus important?

Focus is important because it allows scrum teams to stay on track and not get sidetracked by other distractions. It also helps scrum teams to avoid burnout and keep their energy focused on the task at hand.

How can you make focus real?

There are many ways to make focus real. You can

• Encourage your team to engage in real collaboration (as opposed to simply cooperating with one another, as most teams do). Get four or five developers working on one product backlog item together in the Sprint.
• Encourage developers to ask if anyone needs help when they run out of work.
• Keep your work-in-progress (WIP) low – preferably less than 3.
• Help your developers learn how to work in focused timeblocks of 30-90 minutes. During a time block, help your developers get rid of all distractions and say “no” to all other requests until the timeblock is over.

When scrum masters make focus real for their scrum team, the team is more likely to make far fewer mistakes and get much, much more accomplished in the same timeframe as before.

Scrum Value: Openness

Openness means being willing to share information and ideas with others. It also means being willing to listen to feedback and criticism.

Why is openness important?

Openness is important because it allows scrum teams to learn from one another and to improve. It also allows scrum teams to build trust with one another.

How can you make openness real?

There are many ways to make openness real. You can

• Encourage team members to share their stories of when they were open and what the outcome was.
• Remind team members that openness is a two-way street – it is not just about sharing information, but also about listening.
• Encourage management and team members to give and receive feedback on a regular basis.

When scrum masters make openness real for their scrum team, the team is more likely to be successful.

Scrum Value: Respect

Respect means treating others with dignity and esteem. It also means valuing the contributions of others.

Why is respect important?

Respect is important because it allows scrum teams to work together effectively. It also helps scrum teams to avoid conflict and build trust with one another.

How can you make respect real?

There are many ways to make respect real. You can

• Encourage team members to share their stories of when they were respected and what the outcome was.
• Remind team members that respect is a two-way street – it is not just about being respectful, but also about being respectful of others’ time and space.
• Encourage team members to listen to one another’s ideas without judgement. Even ideas that can’t work will contain valuable “nuggets.”

When scrum masters make respect real for their scrum team, the team is more likely to be successful.

Closing

Scrum values are important for scrum teams to be successful. Scrum masters need to make sure that the team understands and lives the scrum values. When scrum values are real for a scrum team, the team is more likely to be successful.

What other team values do you think are important and why? Share your thoughts in the comments below.