Line managers working alongside Scrum Teams is common practice in ‘matrix’ organisations, where teams are blended with different competences to deliver a product but each team member may be part of a specific ‘line organisation’ according to their competence and so have a responsible line manager.

Line managers can generally be responsible for:

Supporting and empowering Scrum Teams

Line managers are also servant leaders, there to support the Scrum team in their growth and development and remove impediments as needed.

Fostering expertise and investing in growth

Taking the lead of Community of Practices in their competence area, and supporting the development and continuous learning of  line members by providing opportunities for skill-building and professional development.

Guiding flavourful career development

Learning is the spice of life! Line managers coach and mentor to support and develop career paths as the organisation needs.

Boosting wellbeing and motivation

Just like a comforting cup of tea, Line Managers also support a positive work environment and can collaborate with Scrum Masters to achieve that.

Infusing knowledge as a technical stakeholder

Line managers can be considered owners of a technical field and so hold great knowledge. Consider attending sprint reviews to infused the Scrum tea with valuable technical insights and feedback.

Attracting, retaining talent and managing allocations

Recruitment and retention are often the domain of line managers as well as managing the allocations of their line members to teams. A line manager should work closely with the Scrum Master to ensure the right cooks are in the development team!