Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile storytelling from the trenches

How A Product Cancellation Tests a New Scrum Master's Growth | Season Hughes

Feb 24, 2025

Season Hughes, a strategist and e-commerce expert, discusses her growth as a new Scrum Master after facing product cancellation. She shares how her initial oversight in allowing team members to skip standups led to low engagement. Season transformed this challenge into an opportunity for learning during retrospectives, emphasizing the importance of maintaining team ceremonies while supporting individual development. Her experience illustrates the significant impact of a people-centric approach in navigating tough transitions.

15:55

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Season Hughes

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

A new Scrum Master learned that flexibility in team practices during product cancellations is crucial for maintaining engagement and support.

Transforming challenges into learning opportunities through retrospectives can significantly enhance individual growth and emotional resilience within the team.

Deep dives

Overcoming Agile Fatigue

Agile fatigue is a common sentiment among many practitioners, where the focus on processes and frameworks overshadows the core objectives of Agile methodologies. This sentiment can lead to a feeling of being constrained rather than empowered, as individuals focus more on adhering to strict guidelines than on collaboration and value delivery. The Global Agile Summit aims to address this fatigue by bringing together real-life stories from practitioners who have successfully navigated their Agile journeys. These experiences are intended to inspire attendees and shift the mindset from merely following frameworks to achieving impactful outcomes in their teams.

Intro

2min

A Scrum Master's Journey: From Introduction to Certification

3min

Navigating the Early Trials of a Scrum Master

6min

Navigating Project Cancellations: A People-Centric Approach for Scrum Masters

2min

Leveraging Retrospectives for Individual Growth in Agile Teams

3min

Season Hughes: How A Product Cancellation Tests a New Scrum Master's Growth

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

As a new Scrum Master, Season faced a challenging situation when her team learned their product would be canceled. Initially, she made the mistake of telling team members they could skip daily standups if they had higher priorities, leading to unexpected low attendance. During the retrospective, she transformed this challenge into a learning opportunity by helping team members reflect on their personal growth and lessons learned. This experience taught her the importance of maintaining team ceremonies while providing individual support during difficult transitions.

In this segment, we talk about ORSC, a systems inspired team and relationship coach training.

Self-reflection Question: How would you maintain team engagement and motivation when facing a product cancellation?

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About Season Hughes

Season is a strategist and creator who empowers customers and teams to excel. From designing clever, fandom-inspired apparel at Tomorrowland Transit Authority to coaching high-performance teams, Season is passionate about delivering value and driving growth. Now focused on ecommerce success, Season's mission is to turn goals into epic adventures.

You can link with Season Hughes on LinkedIn.

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