Opening Moves

The key motivation for continuous improvement in people and organizations comes from the human connection; the mutual understanding, respect, and collaborative spirit that truly drives transformations. As an agile coach, your client's success depends on your connection with people, which includes the upper management in your client's organization. How would you conduct that first coaching conversation with a senior leader?

The following are 10 sample powerful questions for a coaching conversation with a new client, who is the senior leader in their organization.

1. What is your perception of agility and its relevance to your organization??
2. What do you believe your organization needs from an Agile Coach??
3. Given these needs, what are your expectations regarding our working relationship and the outcomes you're hoping to see??
4. What do you want to get out of our agile coaching conversations??
5. Building an effective and transparent relationship is crucial for our success. Would it be okay if we spent some time discussing how you and I will work together, both now and in future conversations? [Assuming the client is interested in proceeding...]?
6. To better understand the dynamics and support you effectively, it would be beneficial if I could observe interactions within your team. Would it be possible for me to attend your staff meetings and other relevant team events??[Client and coach discuss specifics and come to a shared agreement on the coach attending team meetings and events.]?
7. A recuring private conversation will help us reflect, share observations, and agree on improvement actions. How often would you be comfortable meeting??[Client and coach discuss specifics and come to a shared agreement on the frequency of their conversations.]?
8. Confidentiality is very important to me. You have my assurance that our discussions will remain private unless we both agree otherwise. How would you prefer to receive feedback, and how often??
9. As we move forward, how should we measure our progress? Are there specific metrics or indicators you'd like to focus on or establish?
10. Lastly, it's essential to establish clear boundaries. Are there areas or topics that you'd prefer we avoid during our sessions??

Conclusion: Let's use our results today to summarize our next steps and our primary focus for our upcoming sessions. Does that sound right??[Client and coach work together to define the immediate action plan.]?

Notice that questions 1-4 are designed to maximize time and focus on what the client has to say. After question 4, if there is a specific reason for this first coaching conversation, that context should be added to the conversation here.

With question 5, the lens pans and widens slightly. We reveal a glimpse of the coach's approach and principles as well as gently guiding the client to an optimum conversation outcome.

Keys to a Successful Outcome

The outcome of this dialog will build a stable foundation for the future growth of the client-coach relationship and the collaborative achievement of valued results. If you would like to tailor the script to your specific context, here are some keys to a successful conversation at nearly any level of coaching conversation.

1. Build a Mutual Understanding of Agile: It may be beneficial to include a question like, "How do you perceive Agile and its relevance to your organization?" This ensures that the coach understands the leader's current perception and can tailor the approach accordingly.?
2. Clarify Expectations Early: After the question, "What do you think your organization needs from an Agile Coach?", follow it with something similar to, "What are your expectations regarding our working relationship and the changes you're hoping to see?"?
3. Clarify the Role of the Coach: It might be useful to clarify that the coach is not just an observer but a partner. A statement like, "My role is to work alongside you, not just as an observer but as a partner, to help drive positive changes in your agile practices."?
4. Feedback Mechanism: You may want to introduce a feedback mechanism early on. For instance: "How would you prefer to receive feedback, and how often?"?
5. Establish Boundaries: It’s essential to set clear boundaries for the coaching relationship. This can be achieved with a question like, "Are there areas or topics that you'd prefer we don't touch upon during our sessions?"?
6. Confidentiality: Consider mentioning confidentiality, ensuring that all discussions are private unless otherwise agreed upon. This can be essential for building trust.?
7. Follow-up Actions: After establishing mutual understanding and agreements, wrap up with a clear action plan. "Given our discussion, what would be our next steps? How often should we meet, and what would be our primary focus in our initial sessions?"?
8. Language and Tone: Maintain a collaborative and respectful tone. Instead of phrases like "I need more time...", consider softer alternatives such as "It would be beneficial if..." or "To better understand..., it might help if..."?
9. Measuring Progress: Introduce the idea of metrics or indicators of progress early on, "How will we know we're making progress? Are there specific metrics or indicators you have in mind?"?
10. Flexibility: Emphasize flexibility. Agile coaching is an adaptive process, so the approach might need to change based on evolving needs and circumstances.?

The Middle Game

Assuming your opening moves are successful, and you've planted strong relationship roots, your middle game should invest some time in nurturing and growing that new connection. Here are some suggested exercises for building trust and fostering a collaborative environment with senior leaders, tailored to agile coaching conversations.?

Introduce and practice a few of these exercises with your clients, as needed. You will find many additional details and resources for each exercise with a simple Internet query. Consider using a mutually trusted 3rd party facilitator if that is necessary for your context and success.

1. Expectation Mapping: Objective: Establish mutual expectations.?How: Use sticky notes where both the coach and the leader write down their expectations. Categorize and prioritize them together.?
2. Journey Lines:?Objective: Share personal and professional experiences.?How: Both parties draw a line graph representing highs and lows of their professional journey, and then share the stories behind those points. This exercise fosters empathy and understanding.?
3. Empathy Map:?Objective: Understand thoughts, feelings, and needs.?How: Create a quadrant divided into 'Thinking', 'Feeling', 'Saying', and 'Doing'. Discuss and note down what the senior leader thinks, feels, says, and does in their role related to Agile practices.?
4. Agile Value Alignment:?Objective: Align on core Agile values.?How: List Agile values on cards. Discuss and prioritize them based on the leader's perspective and organizational needs.?
5. Role-Play Scenarios:?Objective: Understand challenges and decision-making.?How: Simulate scenarios where the leader has to make a decision or deal with a challenge. Discuss the leader's approach and the Agile perspective post-simulation.?
6. Personal Agility Canvas:?Objective: Reflect on agility in personal leadership.?How: A canvas with sections like 'Strengths', 'Aspirations', 'Barriers', and 'Steps Forward' allows the leader to map out their journey towards becoming more agile.?
7. Feedback Loop Game:?Objective: Establish effective feedback mechanisms.?How: Discuss and role-play different feedback techniques, focusing on iterative feedback and actionable items.?
8. Shared Goal Setting:?Objective: Establish shared outcomes.?How: Collaboratively define S.M.A.R.T (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals for the coaching relationship and track them regularly.?
9. Trust-building Activities:?Objective: Strengthen the bond.?How: Engage in activities like 'Two Truths and a Lie' or share personal stories to build trust and understanding.?
10. ?Retro on Coaching Sessions:?Objective: Continual improvement in the coaching relationship.?How: After a few sessions, conduct a mini-retrospective on what's working, what's not, and potential improvements.?
11. Stakeholder Mapping:?Objective: Understanding the leader's ecosystem.?How: Map out key stakeholders and discuss their expectations, needs, and the nature of relationships. This provides insight into the complexities the leader navigates.?
12. ?Value Stream Mapping:?Objective: Identify bottlenecks and improvement areas.?How: Visually map out processes and identify areas for agility and efficiency improvements.?

When conducting these exercises, ensure that the environment is safe and non-judgmental. It's vital to approach them as collaborative learning experiences rather than evaluative tasks. The ultimate goal is to foster understanding, alignment, and a strong foundation for the coaching relationship.?

I'd like to hear about your opening moves and coaching conversations with client leaders. Share your experience and recommend best practices in the comments.

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