Congratulations, you landed the gig and you're now the #scrummaster for your scrum team. It may be your first day ever or it may just be your first day on your new job. Either way, we asked John McFadyen to provide us with some recommendations to make your first day rock.  

Start by getting to know how things work around your #scrumteam. 

It may be your first day on the job but they have been working together for a while. There are some things which work pretty well as they are and there are some areas that could use your energy and enthusiasm to improve.  

Take the time to discover which is which. Invest time and energy into learning how the organisation works and who the rainmakers are. Get to know the #productowner and understand how the team are currently winning versus where obvious opportunities for improvement lie.  

Step 2.  

Build your network.  

Start having conversations with people in the environment and begin to develop relationships. Start with the most important person you need to meet first and work your way through the chain of command from there.  

John likes to end a meeting by asking who that person feels he should be talking to next. Who they recommend and whether they would be good enough to introduce them to him.  A warm introduction in a new environment goes a long way and you'll find your job becoming heaps easier and you slowly grow your influence and reach within the organisation.  

Step 3.  

Plan a great retrospective.  

A retrospective is one of the more important events in the #scrumframework so you're going to want to prepare something awesome for the team.  

Not only will the #sprintretrospective provide you with great insights, it is also going to allow you to walk away from your first team meeting with actionable steps.  

One great action is more than enough. More is even better.  

Use the opportunity to position yourself as a great #scrummaster and someone who makes work both interesting and entertaining. Allow the team to have some fun in the retrospective and craft it in such a way that you make a memorable first impression.  

There are some great books, blogs, videos with great ideas for retrospectives so take a little time to research some options or dig back into your arsenal and pull out a retrospective that has been a firm favourite with teams in the past.  

Do these three things in your first week as a scrum master and you'll be well on your way to nurturing a successful working environment for the future.  

If you like the idea of becoming a scrum master, visit our Certified Scrum Master course page on https://www.agilecentre.com/courses/scrum-master/certified-scrummaster/  

If you are already a scrum master and want to upskill, visit our Advanced Certified Scrum Master course page on https://www.agilecentre.com/courses/scrum-master/advanced-certified-scrummaster/  

If you have several years' experience as a scrum master and want to both validate and certify your professional skills, visit our Certified Scrum Professional Scrum Master course page on https://www.agilecentre.com/courses/scrum-master/certified-scrum-professional-scrum-master/  

If you like the idea of mentored and coach-driven skills development, visit our Agile Coach Academy on https://www.agilecentre.com/courses/agile-coach/agile-coach-academy/  

If you have identified coaching as a valuable skill to develop, visit our on-demand Introduction To Coaching course page on https://academy.agilecentre.com/courses/introduction-to-coaching  

For more information on John McFadyen, visit https://www.johnmcfadyen.com  

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