Without a certain foundation of experience, you can't do justice to this role.
I often read, "How do you become a Scrum Master if it's not for beginners?"
My somewhat cheeky response: "How do you become a medical director if that's not for beginners?"
The seeming hyperbole has a point: These two roles share many similarities. Neither primarily involves the execution of operational tasks - instead, both are accountable for operational effectiveness.
They need to make sure that things are running smooth. That nothing important is overlooked. That when the going get tough, no mistakes are made, and when mistakes are made, that no chain reaction occurs. They need to ensure that problems beyond the competence of others are resolved quickly and effectively. And, of course, they coach and mentor the experts. This requires a strategic overview and an understanding of what's going well, what isn't - and where things are heading. Effective communication. And a lot of experience.
Can we expect all of this from beginners? Hardly.
While Scrum Masters don't do all of this on their own, they support experts, specialists, and leaders in word and deed in order to be effective, optimize, simplify, and solve problems. This requires an understanding of how things work, the success factors, common problems, and typical solutions.
And that was just the internal perspective. From an external perspective, a Scrum Master needs to collaborate with stakeholders such as customers and management. This requires a practical understanding of process management, project management, product management, quality management, management systems, typical business and leadership challenges - and potentially, some basics of labor law and economics.
And still, all of this is only scratching the surface - but this already tells you that the Scrum Master accountability is not for the faint of heart. It requires many competencies that don't come out of nowhere. They require previous experience.
Now, how can you approach becoming a Scrum Master? Simply put: Gain experience in less challenging roles. Prove yourself. Broaden your horizons and grow continuously. Once you have earned the respect of colleagues, leaders, and teams - then you are ready to become a Scrum Master.
I'm aware that I'm setting the bar quite high here. In practice, hardly anyone possesses all these competencies. That's okay. There's always a compromise. But every compromise comes at a cost. Each compromise means that the Scrum Master will be less effective. Once we strip away everything - then we could also use a houseplant as a Scrum Master.
And trust me - you don't want to be a Scrum Master who can be replaced by a houseplant. Because you will be.
