“I am blocked” is music to my ears.
Over the years working with project teams, I’ve come to believe those three words might be the most productive feedback any team member can share. When I’m asked, “How do you help your team as a Scrum Master or Project Manager?” My answer always stems from the point of view of servant leadership. More specifically, I answer today in this way: I facilitate momentum.
I applaud any team member who has the courage to say, “I am blocked.” First, it affirms that the team has created a safe environment where people feel comfortable speaking up — knowing their feedback will be received positively rather than as a personal attack on another team member or external dependency.
Blockages also reveal patterns. They spark valuable discussions in retrospectives, surface recurring issues, and sometimes highlight the need for broader conversations with leaders to resolve systemic challenges. Even better, the team member raising the concern might discover a workaround — a learning the entire team can benefit from. It’s not just about process improvement, but about building operating norms where everyone takes responsibility for delivery outcomes.
If you’re not hearing your team share these magical words — “I am blocked” — one of two things may be true. Perhaps you really do have the most high-functioning team around. If that’s the case, keep nurturing what’s working. On the other hand, if sprint or release goals are consistently missed and no one is surfacing blockers, it’s a signal. It requires reflection and intentional adjustments to create a safe space where people feel comfortable being candid.
Another anti-pattern I see is when blockages are raised but ignored. This quickly becomes a cry wolf scenario. Instead of addressing the issue with rigor, the work gets deprioritized or pushed back into the backlog. At the end of the day, if a story or task made it into the sprint, it was deemed important. At least, it should be if prioritization practices are working well.
So ask yourself:
Are your team members raising blockers?
Have you created an environment where they feel comfortable doing so?
And are leaders really listening?
Shout it loud and strong: as a Project Manager, “I am blocked” is music to my ears.
