Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile storytelling from the trenches · 2026-06-29 · 15 min
Gunnar Fischer: Accepting Not Being Accepted - The People-Pleasing Trap That Broke a Scrum Master Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: . "I accepted not being accepted, and that was a big failure." - Gunnar Fischer Gunnar's biggest failure wasn't a single bad decision - it was an attitude he carried into work for far too long. As an Agile coach and Scrum Master, he watched a new high-ranking manager arrive who didn't like the team, didn't respect them, never even officially introduced herself. And Gunnar did the worst possible thing: he played along. He did the people-pleasing dance without ever getting feedback, recognition, or even a basic conversation. He formed ideas as a team, did the work, asked for nothing back - and accepted that nobody looked at the work. In hindsight, the Scrum value of respect was the missing piece. "The members of a Scrum team respect each other to be capable, independent people, and are also respected as such by the others." Gunnar respected others. He did not demand that respect for himself.
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