TWEAK: Trust!

Your team requires a high level of trust within, from the outside in, and towards the outside. Otherwise it will be difficult to perform properly: Performance will be wasted on "looking good" rather than "being good". Schemes and politics will reduce results accordingly, so trust is your primary factor to work with.

As a Scrum Master, here are the dimensions you should consider:

• Does the team trust 
• each other?
• the Scrum Master?
• their management?
• Product Owner?
• Customers?
• Is this trust mutual?
• What is the basis of the trust relationship?
• Is the trust relationship also transitive, for example: Does the Product Owner also trust the Management dealing properly with the team?
• Is the trust relationship also indirect, for example: Do Customers and Management trust each other?

Building trust is the first and most important pillar for team success. Only when trust is present, technical improvement activities will be effective.