A project manager is not automatically a Scrum Master. The differences are really essential. Where the Project Manager coordinates and monitors, the Scrum Master coaches and facilitates.
When organizations switch to working with Scrum, you often see that the old project manager suddenly becomes a Scrum Master. That is not a bad thing, but the former project manager must realize that a different role is now being asked of him/her. A common mistake is that the new-fangled Scrum Master still acts as a project manager, but now does so under the title Scrum Master.
Now, who is a project manager?
A project manager is responsible for a project and is therefore held accountable by the management for the result. The manager directs the team so that the project runs smoothly. Important features are keeping an overview; a project manager asks if a task has already been completed. And if an employee runs into something, the manager offers a solution.
That's how it goes in many organizations and there's nothing wrong with that. This is the traditional way of working that many people are well acquainted with. A good project manager ensures that the project runs smoothly and this requires skills: managing people, monitoring progress, reporting to the board, and so on.
What matters now is that this way of working is very different from the work as a Scrum Master.
The main difference is that a Scrum Master is not a manager, but a servant leader. That may sound a bit vague, but you should see a Scrum Master more as a coach. The Scrum Master does not direct people but coaches them in working according to Scrum. Where a project manager immediately provides a solution to a problem, the Scrum Master must help employees to solve the problem themselves. One way to do this is with Scaffolding.
Another important difference is that the Scrum Master is not responsible for the outcome of the Scrum Team. The team delivers itself and presents its results. The Scrum Master is therefore not concerned with managing employees but enables them to do their job well.
In short: a Scrum Master is not a boss, but a coach. This, therefore, requires a different approach, especially for a former project manager. Since the Scrum Master is a coach, he/she is responsible for the way of working and not for the result.








