For new scrum masters
Icebreakers for a new scrum master joining an existing team
Joining an existing scrum team as the new SM is awkward. The team has its retros and standups already. They have a previous SM whose style they got used to. Showing up in week one and changing the warmup format is the wrong move; coming in with no warmup at all is also wrong. These games are for that narrow first month.
Why the new SM has the same problem as the new manager
The team didn't ask for a new scrum master. They might have liked the previous one. A new SM running an icebreaker on day one looks like asserting ownership of a meeting that wasn't theirs yet. A game where the SM participates alongside the team, on the team's existing cadence, signals that the new SM is paying attention before they start changing things.
Recommended games
StandpointTwo-card vote, three rounds. The lowest-stakes way for a new SM to participate in retro warmups without taking over the meeting format.Team SpectrumPlot the team on a sprint-confidence spectrum. The new SM gets a useful read of the team's mood without anyone having to volunteer it.Word AssociationSixty-second standup warmup. Useful in week one because it's short, low-stakes and matches what most teams do already.Two TruthsSkip in the first month. The team has already played this with the previous SM. Pick it back up in month two if the team wants it.Icebreaker QuestionsQuestion wheel with the new SM answering alongside the team. Lower-stakes than asking the team to introduce themselves to the new SM.
Common questions
- Should the new SM change the team's existing warmup format?
- Not in week one. Match what the team is already doing. Week three is the right time to suggest a new format, and only if the existing one is visibly tired.
- What's a safe opener for a new SM's first retro?
- A vote-based or spectrum game where the SM participates as one of the team. The point is to be in the room as a peer before being in the room as the facilitator. The retro itself can run in TeamRetro after the warmup.
- When is this the wrong call?
- When the team already dislikes icebreakers. Adding a new warmup in week one of a new SM compounds the resistance. Skip it, run the retro the way the team is used to, and earn the right to change the format later.
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