The ScrumMaster’s Role: Conducting an orchestra without a conductor

 

1. Choosing Leaders. For each piece of music Orpheus performs, a committee of musicians chosen by orchestra members selects a concertmaster, the first-chair violinist. The orchestra's members also select a leadership team of five to seven players, called the core. In Orpheus, the concertmaster anchors the core, leads performances, and works closely with all the musicians to develop a unified vision for the music. Each instrumental section (cello, oboe, and so on) selects individuals to represent it within the core.
2. Developing Strategies. Before a piece of music is taken to the full orchestra, the core meets to decide how it will be played. The goal: developing an overall interpretive approach to the music. The core accomplishes this goal through rehearsals where many different approaches can be tried in a streamlined fashion.
3. Developing the Product. After the core is satisfied with its chosen approach to the piece, it is taken to the full orchestra to be rehearsed and refined even further. Musicians from throughout the orchestra make suggestions to improve the piece and critique the playing of their colleagues. When disagreements arise, as they do in any organization, the orchestra members work to reach consensus. If consensus cannot be reached within a reasonable period of time, then a vote is taken and the issue is settled.
4. Perfecting the Product. Immediately before every concert, one or two members of the orchestra are selected to go out into the hall and listen to the group as the audience will hear it. These musicians report back to the entire group and suggest final adjustments and refinements based on the actual sound of the full orchestra.
5. Delivering the Product. The final step is performance, the ultimate result of the Orpheus Process. The Orpheus Process does not end here, however. After every concert, participants informally discuss their impressions of the performance and make suggestions for further adjustments and refinements -- all with an eye to improving subsequent performances of the piece.

It struck me quite suddenly how this resembled the transition from traditional, process oriented project management to the more flexible and adaptable agile one for many organizations.  In particular, the notion of collaborative leadership is in line with Scrum's principle of more team leadership and collaboration through cross functional teams.  

The core tenant of the Orpheus Process is that individual musicians spontaneously take on ad hoc leadership responsibilities in response to the specific demands of each piece of music, ensuring that they sustain a unique multi-leadered orchestra that fully engages and flexibly deploys the creative abilities and energies of each musician.

Though not explicitly outlined in the Orpheus Process, this rotation of leadership and improvisational adjustments to the music is allowed to facilitate the self-organization of the team, which is a one to one correspondence to the main tenets of Scrum.

How does this apply for the ScrumMaster who is charged with leading the project?

It seems to apply quite well.  According to Scrum's philosophy, the ScrumMaster's function is to remove impediments and facilitate the environment surrounding a team so that it can organize itself.  He/she has to challenge and assist the team in establishing the deliverables of a Scrum project while simultaneously supporting the members of the team as they organize themselves.  He/she facilitates the open collaboration needed for actual self control and works together with the Product Owner to insure the directions of the visions and goals are clear.

This kind of leadership is harder than the kind expected in a traditonal project manager, since the ScrumMaster has to balance the ability to distinguish between what is important and what is not important and between what needs to be done right away and what can be done later, while still allowing the team to self-organize and collaborate.  The ScrumMaster will still have to address and solve conflicts, but give neutral feedback, pointing out potential improvements, but suggest corrections to incorrect behavior patterns to ensure the project get's delivered on time, within scope, under budget and with high quality.

I think the subtleties, complexities and multi-faceted roles a ScrumMaster must engage in is underestimated.  It is more than just removing impediments, as it requires leading without being a leader or conducting an orchestra without the authority or role of conductor.