In a leadership meeting, an executive leaned back in his chair and asked the question that often lingers unspoken: “How do we know if our Scrum Masters are actually doing their jobs?” He flipped through reports, searching for evidence, velocity charts, burndowns, or maybe even attendance records for ceremonies.
None of it seemed to provide a satisfying answer.
The reality was that those traditional artifacts didn’t reflect the true impact. The Scrum Masters weren’t there to inflate velocity or fill busier calendars. They worked quietly behind the scenes to shorten cycle times, foster cross-functional collaboration, and coach leaders on shifting funding models. The improvements became evident through fewer missed commitments, healthier team engagement scores, and smoother delivery across the portfolio. The evidence was there, just not in the places he had been taught to look.
My CTO simply asked, "How do we know the teams are as effective as they could be?" Hmmm... well, we haven't been able to answer that question anywhere—measure potential versus actual? Why would Scrum or agile help us do that? There was a lot of scar tissue in that relationship, but it taught me a lot about what leaders need. They are people too; they are part of the team, and we should help ensure their needs are met.
What.
The success of a Scrum Master isn't measured by rituals or hours in meetings. The role is to set the conditions for agility: focus, flow, transparency, and continuous improvement. True success is seen when outcomes improve; delivery becomes more predictable, quality increases, and teams grow more independent.
A Scrum Master’s role isn’t to do more, but to enable more: guiding teams toward self-sufficiency, coaching leaders to remove systemic obstacles, and ensuring the framework creates value rather than bureaucracy. The culture to allow teams to experiment with new ideas without fear of retribution is truly a challenge; but is the essence of an agile team. Experiment!
So What?
When expectations are misaligned, organizations undermine agility. If leaders measure Scrum Masters by busyness, how many meetings they run, and how strictly they enforce rituals, they reduce the role to process police. This not only fuels skepticism but also drives away the very behaviors agility depends on: experimentation, adaptability, and self-management.
On the other hand, when success is defined by outcomes (predictability, team health, customer value) and systemic change (smarter funding, better performance systems, reduced bureaucracy), Scrum Masters become essential partners in transformation.
Now What?
It’s time for leaders and Scrum Masters to reset their success contract:
Flow: Measure improvements in lead time, cycle time, and predictability, not just story points.
Team Health: Track engagement, psychological safety, and collaboration patterns.
Enterprise Impact: Highlight systemic changes (HR, finance, governance) that enable agility beyond IT.
Independence: Celebrate when teams can self-manage and problem-solving.
Scrum Masters should make these outcomes visible through dashboards, retrospectives, and storytelling, so leaders see how agility shows up in results, not rituals.
Let's Do This!
A Scrum Master’s success is not personal glory; it’s shared success across the system. When delivery flows, teams are engaged, and leaders see clearer outcomes, that’s the evidence the role is working.
The question isn’t “What does a Scrum Master do all day?” but “How has our system improved because of their influence?” And if you can point to healthier flow, stronger teams, and enterprise adaptability, you already have your answer.