Karim Harbott
Karim Harbott, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CST®, CEC, CTC®, REP, CAL-E

Dear fellow Scrum Alliance members,
 
I believe that people deserve to feel engaged and fulfilled by their work. I thrive on helping create high-performing, Agile organisations that delight customers, and truly people-centric organisations at which people genuinely love to work.
 
No organisation has done as much to transform people’s work lives as The Scrum Alliance (SA). It’s had a huge impact on people all over the world and the work they do every day. Like many of you, I am proud to be a member. But there is even more we could be doing.
 
I want to continue to contribute my time and energy to the SA by offering to its Board of Directors the benefit of my experience at a top strategy consultancy, as well as the lessons I learned working with the Scrum Alliance, building my own Agile organisation, and helping leaders transform their own organisations.
 
My Qualifications & Scrum Alliance Involvement
 
Over the years, I have been a software engineer, a business analyst, a (pretty bad) tester, a project manager, a strategy consultant, a Scrum Master, an Agile coach, a trainer, and an entrepreneur. I have worked with over 100 organisations, all seeking to improve in some way. I have seen a lot of failure. I have seen a lot of success. And I have learned more than I could possibly have imagined.
 
Through many of those years, I have had close ties with the Scrum Alliance. I became a Certified Scrum Professional (CSP) in 2012. Since then, I’ve gone on to become a Certified Enterprise Coach (CEC), Certified Scrum Trainer (CST), Certified Agile Leadership Educator (CAL-E), and a Path to CSP Educator. Aside from these important personal milestones, I am proudest of my work in giving back to the community. I volunteer my time simply because I wish to serve a community of which I love being a part.
 
In 2014 I began reviewing CEC applications. After 18 months, I answered the call of the Path to CSP Programme Team, on which I’ve now served for over three years. I continue to serve on the Path to CSP Review Team. This team worked to solve a common problem: the lack of a clear path to growth in the Scrum Master and Product Owner roles. Consulting members and stakeholders, we created a framework for continuing growth. This small team designed the programme and created seven sets of learning objectives. It is wonderful to hear the positive feedback about this programme from trainers and learners alike.
 
My recent role as a co-founder and director of a rapidly growing Agile training and consulting firm has given me clear insight into how to balance strategic thinking with fostering the right culture and identifying what clients need to help them be successful. This has been a steep, but deeply satisfying, learning curve. The next logical step for me is to apply that learning on the SA Board of Directors.
 
My Hopes for the Future
 
The Scrum Alliance has been a global leader in bringing Agile ways of working to millions. Its flagship Scrum certifications are the gold standard in the industry. I am proud to have played a small part in that. But as new players enter the market, we need to stay on the cutting edge whilst still servicing our most popular products. We must increase the supply of high-quality training, inspire at the grass-roots level and support people as they grow, whilst simultaneously bringing agility into the boardroom. In short, we must continue to innovate.
 
We need to listen to members, we need to listen to organisations, and we need to listen to the wider community. Only then can we experiment, take steps to solve the big challenges, and continue to make a difference in people’s work lives. This is how we will survive, thrive, and continue to ‘transform the world of work’. I hope to play my part in this exciting new chapter for the Scrum Alliance and to contribute to creating organisations in which I would be happy to see my children work.
 
I would be honoured to have the opportunity to represent you on the Board of Directors.
 
Sincerely,
Karim Harbott
 

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