Here is a check-list of a zombie-employer when considering hiring/contract opportunity

Based a few recent posts about “one SM per 5 teams” dysfunction, let’s try to summarize a “check-list of a zombie-employer” – a list of warning signs for a change agent before considering a hiring/contract opportunity:

Here’s the basic questions I suggest to ask during your interview:

1. How many teams per Scrum Master is considered “normal” in the company?
More than 3 = run!

2. What are the expectations from a Scrum Master on the organizational level (beyond their work with product teams and PO)?
Validate the answer with your experience/desire. If you’re new in the profession, you will most likely focus on teams-level, and after a while you might want to impact other parts of the organization. If you’re seasoned SM, you will most likely want to have a wider impact (given your capacity), and limits to this ability might be demotivating.

3. Is there a strong and dedicated leader in C-Suite who’s driving Agile Transformation? If “no” – chances are that transformation lacks strategic vision and organizational alignment. And the escalation point for organization impediments might be missing (meaning, Transformation will have devastating effect for the change agents’ mental health).

4. What is the history of Agile Transformation(s) in the company?
An open question that might shed light on, for example, how tired the people are from the buzzwords like “Scrum” or “Kanban” So that you could tune your messages to the teams to omit “hostile” terminology.

Or you could understand how sustainable is the transformational effort in the organization. Are they making progress with each and every transformation phase? Or things are getting only worse?..