When people start out with Scrum@Scale, they usually get really interested in the Executive Action Team. It has the terms “executive” and “action” in it, so naturally, people want to know more right away.

The Executive Action Team — often shortened to EAT — is the highest instance of the Scrum Master organization inside a company. It’s a cross-functional management team that takes on key responsibilities related to Scrum Master topics. One of its primary responsibilities is ensuring the quality of Scrum within the organization. Another is being responsible for the transformation of the organization.

If you’re just starting out on a transformation, there will be a lot of work to do. But even if your organization is already highly agile, there’s always something to change, something to adapt to. The EAT owns the transformation backlog and must at least develop the strategy for it — and in many cases, also execute it. While they can delegate tasks, they remain accountable for the outcome.

Additionally, the EAT has a very important function: they are responsible for taking care of impediments. A good way to remember this is to think of the EAT “eating” impediments — almost like Pac-Man. Whenever a team cannot solve an impediment on its own, it can escalate it to the next level — for example, via the Scaled Daily Scrum. If the impediment still cannot be solved at lower levels of the organization, it eventually lands with the Executive Action Team, which must handle it.

This is a critical team, and it’s important to pay close attention to who joins it. You need people who can actually make changes — people who can change organizational policies, sign off on budgets, and drive real transformation. It’s also wise to include at least one strong agile or Scrum champion — someone enthusiastic and deeply knowledgeable about Scrum practices — to help guide the team’s direction.

If you want to learn more about how the Executive Action Team works in practice, I run regular seminars on this topic. You can find upcoming dates at teamflow.de