Even Scrum teams have conflict (Part Two)

What you are about to read is true, however some of the names have been changed to protect the innocent, etc.

In part one of this saga, I explained how my unusually perfect week dissipated into chaos in a matter of minutes. I had just closed the door to my office, where developers Alforno and Sparky were yelling at each other in unison.

"You were being evasive."

"...and you were being a baby—so there!"

I asked them to sit down and help me understand how the relationship between two of the most mild-mannered professional guys on my team had deteriorated so fast.

The answer was not one that I was ready for.

"Stoli took vacation days without finishing her tasks for this sprint. Sparky and I agreed to take up her slack, but Sparky is too much of a perfectionist. We need the code checked-in now in order to verify his fixes before the review meeting today."

"Guys, please calm down. I will explain the situation to the product owner, and we will reschedule the review meeting."

Now, I was beginning to get an idea of what had happened. In the daily stand-up from the previous day, the sprint was winding down, and anyone who had finished their assigned tasks was asking if anyone else needed help.

That's when Quality Assurance reported that Stolichnaya—one of our most brilliant and most trusted teammates—had taken off work without completing her committed tasks.

Alforno volunteered to take over for her, but there were some areas of code that were outside of his expertise—and the sprint was nearly over. Alforno couldn't complete Stolichnaya's tasks without help from Sparky—who was still trying to complete the tasks he committed to do during the June sprint.

The tension between Alforno and Sparky was inevitable—and ultimately unbearable.

In the end, the three of us agreed that the team—the respect and trust we have for each other—is more important than a single missed commitment. Alforno and Sparky shook hands and left my office smiling.

I was smiling, too—but it felt a little forced.

Ultimately, the team failed to delivery one of it's June commitments—the work Stolichnaya left behind was too great for the team to complete in time—but all other commitments were met by the team, and I was still very proud of their accomplishments for June.

...but something didn't feel right.

Yesterday, Stolichnaya returned from her vacation—actually a job interview in San Francisco—and submitted her resignation. She reported that the money was greater in Silicon Valley—but I know the cost of living there is greater still. I cannot help but wonder if the pressures of Scrum—the transparency and the accountability—had something to do with Stoli's decision.

Now, I look to hold someone accountable for this mess, and I believe I have found the guilty party—someone I like to call "me". What have I—as a Scrum Master and as a manager—done wrong, and what can I do to improve the situation?

 

To be continued...