Bringing Agile and Coaching together

For some years now I have been practicing the agile way of working and helping teams in organizations move towards a more agile way. I know the frameworks, the tools, the roles, the artefacts and the events that has sprung from the agile manifesto and guiding principles. But what about “Coaching”? A lot of us call ourselves Agile Coaches, and that means bringing both “agile” and “coaching” to the table. But what does that mean?

Well in my own opinion, it means being able to both implement the necessary processes, roles, and tools for doing agile in the organization, but also the ability to meet Individuals, Teams and Leaders and getting them to understand and reflect on how to be agile. This is where the coaching skills come in.

First of all, doing an organizational transformation towards the agile way of working, has everything to do with change-leadership and less with framework implementation. One done by training (welcome to a world of the thousand certifications), the latter done by leading and coaching.

Once Team members and Leaders start to exploit the agile roles, the tools and artefacts, many questions, frustrations and misunderstandings might occur. This is natural, when doing transformation to something new and unknown. I find that the best way to help, is by using a coaching approach.

Here are the guiding principles of coaching (Not invented by me) that I follow:

-?????????Behind any behavior, there is positive intention

-?????????We always do our best

-?????????Its better to have a choice, than to not have one

-?????????People themselves hold the answers

-?????????Learning comes from experience

-?????????There is no failure, only learning

I always try to meet people where they are and to understand their view on the world, only then can I truly connect with and coach them.

So, what is this coaching thing?

It is be ability to ask the right question, at the right time, that enables the person in front of you, to see beyond what they find to be the truth. These kind of reflections helps the person to see new opportunities, that before was unknown to them.

Coaching done correctly can help team members and leaders through a change process, such as an agile transformation, in a way where they feel impowered and involved.

In the end, becoming an agile company is all about people, mindset and culture.

/Jacob Kingo