People are productive, when they are motivated. People are motivated when they are proud. Pride only develops if people are treated like human beings, not like resources. They must be allowed to manage themselves, but also shown respect for their work. They must be allowed to deliver high quality work. (You might argue now, that "every Team is allowed to deliver, that's what they are paid for!". Let me assure you, that this is not the case. I have worked with Teams who were so bound by technical barriers and mandatory processes, that they could hardly move an inch. Of course, they weren't able to use full Scrum either and therefore didn't get the benefits out of it. We first had to remove the impediments, which took quite a while).
Have a look around you, especially at open source projects: Why do those people put so much effort into something they aren't even paid for? Every single one of them has his/her own specific reason, but they have one thing in common: They want to make a difference and put their ideas to practice. That is something they often are not able to do during their working time. This potential should not be wasted! As a Scrum Master it is your job to find out what motivates each individual Developer in your Team and find a way that those needs are satisfied. Usually that shouldn't be too hard, because people tend to come in a "motivated" state by default. Just remove everything that impedes this intrinsic motivation.
If you succeed here, meaning the Team takes pride in what they do and are highly motivated as well as productive, you get something very important for free: The will to win. If your Team has a strong will to win, they will overcome difficult times by themselves and they will tackle every problem that arises. If this will to win is missing, you find the Team accepting almost everything without argument. If you have ever heard a Developer say that "this takes awfully long, but that's how it is done around here" you know what I am talking about.
The above described concept is valid and essential for the management of a company as well. Only if they have the will to win, they will be able to solve systemic problems of the organisation. Without it, you (as Scrum Master / Scrum Coach) will have to do everything yourself, go on their nerves, push them further and finally leave the company out of frustration (or because they are fed up with your attitude) - which is the point in time when everything falls back into place as it was before you even started. Does your management keep their promises?
Let your people create high quality work which makes them proud and you will get an unstoppable winning Team.
