Hi Jeanne, thanks for the big compliment and your elaborate response. You have quite a few questions, and I sure don’t have all the answers nor the absolute truth. But I will do my best to provide some guidance to your quest. Here we go…

1. A scrum master is a role in Scrum. Scrum itself is a simple framework for effective team collaboration on complex products. As scrum master you act as a servant leader to the the team and the organization. You train, mentor, coach, help remove obstacles, whatever you can do to help them become more successful in delivering value. Continuous learning and improvement are key ingredients, and so is the use of facts to gain insights. I love this role. A good starting point for more information on this role is scrum.org
2. Cool, as long as it works for you!
3. One of the key tips from my story is to focus on those items that are not going well ánd where you are in control most. This is where you can be most effective. There are plenty of ways to prioritize, many articles on Medium cover this so I’d suggest to start looking there. Sometimes I use the criteria impact and effort. Todos with high impact which require least effort are the so-called low hanging fruit. Or I use the Eisenhower matrix, which is based on the criteria urgency and importance, also very useful. My last tip here would be to stay focused and limit the amount of todos so you have a higher chance of actually completing some of them. Personally I set myself 3 top priority actions per day, and that can be hard enough already.
4. This is a tough one to address. Some tips. Break down big problems in smaller pieces that are easier to handle. When you need the help or support from others: be open about it, work from your common ground, for sure you have some common interests that are at stake. Focus on an outcome that can work for both parties, the goal is more important than the way how you get there. Trust each other to want the best. I always ask myself: did I really do everything within my power to make this work? If not, I continue. Otherwise it’s time to stop investing and accept it. Ultimately you can always leave a situation. On Medium there are plenty of stories on this, you are not alone.
5. Nope, but maybe I should ☺
6. You’re welcome! I do have some more topics to write about, so please stay tuned.

Good luck with all your endeavors. Keep things small, and take one step at a time. All progress counts!