SSM Defining the Scrum Master / Team Coach Role Practice Question
A SAFe Scrum Master / Team Coach is working with an Agile Team that has a strong technical lead who makes most of the technical decisions and often overrides the team's input during Iteration Planning. Other team members have stopped voicing opinions. What should the Scrum Master do to address this situation?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is responding to a dominant personality by either confronting them publicly or removing them, when the Scrum Master's leverage is private coaching and facilitated inclusion.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Speak with the technical lead privately to share observations about the team's reduced participation, and coach them on how to facilitate shared decision-making during planning.
The Scrum Master / Team Coach should address the imbalance through private coaching and by helping the technical lead facilitate broader participation. Public confrontation, escalation, or formalizing the lead's authority all fail to build a healthier team dynamic. Coaching the individual while modeling inclusive behaviors best supports self-management.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Report the technical lead's behavior to the Release Train Engineer and request that the lead be removed from the team to restore balance.
Why it's wrong here
Escalating to remove the technical lead is a disproportionate response that skips coaching and may damage team trust. The Scrum Master's first accountability is to coach the team and individuals toward better collaboration. Removal should be a last resort after direct coaching and facilitation efforts have failed, and it does not build the team's capacity to handle similar dynamics.
- ✗
Assign the technical lead as the team's facilitator for all Iteration Planning sessions so they can formally own the decision-making process.
Why it's wrong here
Formalizing the technical lead as facilitator would entrench the imbalance rather than resolve it. The goal is to broaden participation and shared ownership, not to legitimize one person's dominance. Facilitation of planning is typically a Scrum Master responsibility or a rotating team role, but using it to concentrate power contradicts the Scrum Master's coaching intent.
- ✓
Speak with the technical lead privately to share observations about the team's reduced participation, and coach them on how to facilitate shared decision-making during planning.
Why this is correct
A private conversation with the technical lead addresses the behavior directly without embarrassing them, and coaching on facilitation supports a shift toward shared decision-making. This approach respects the lead's expertise while building a more inclusive team dynamic. It aligns with the Scrum Master's role of coaching individuals and teams to improve interactions and self-management.
- ✗
During the next Iteration Planning, publicly ask other team members to challenge the technical lead's decisions to ensure all voices are heard.
Why it's wrong here
Publicly asking others to challenge the technical lead can create conflict and put quieter members on the spot, increasing anxiety rather than safety. This approach may also embarrass the technical lead and harden their position. The Scrum Master should model and coach constructive behaviors, not orchestrate confrontation in a team event.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Scaled Agile exam blueprint
This SSM practice question is part of Courseiva's free Scaled Agile certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SSM exam.