What an Agile Coach isn't - and what has become of the role. My personal opinion.

There is a new generation of Agile Coaches dedicated to fostering real and lasting change. Although some focus on specific frameworks rather than the adaptive, contextual work required for change, many focus on picking up organizations where they're to help them reach their full potential.

As interest in the psychology of change grows, so does the demand for support in managing this transition. Agile coaches, at their best, have a set of skills and methodological knowledge complemented by their experience. They know that rules and tools should be adapted to the context and not enforced without regard to the particular needs of an organization. With this personal post, I want to shed light on the role of the Agile Coach within the community and encourage meaningful conversations that promote positive progress and development beyond the boundaries of this beautiful profession. This is what I believe an Agile Coach isn't:

• A project manager. However, some act as PMs, dictating tasks and timelines and focusing on results rather than achieving them. They provide the "how" and "what" instead of leading the "why" and collaborating on the "how"
• Scrum Master. Experienced Agile Coaches know frameworks, but they help teams adapt their practices to their needs, even if they have to recommend not using Scrum. Many simply certify a formula and enforce prescriptive rules, losing flexibility.
• A drive-by consultant. Coaches are partners for ongoing growth, not temporary support. But high demand and short-term thinking have created "coaches" who just drive by, instruct teams to "just get it done," and then move on unchanged and unengaged. They fail to build understanding or acceptance, and no learning is left behind.
• Psychologist. Experienced coaches also understand the psychological part, but their job consists of hands-on coaching of companies over a long period of time, not psychological factors for which they have no professional training. However, some stumble in this role and try to inflate their limited skills in packages, products and programs by focusing on the deep psychological factors which they have to make room for a health expert.
• Executive. Experienced coaches have no mission or authority other than to help others achieve their own vision. But too often, inexperienced coaches overstep their role or let it slide. They dictate change, issue orders, and make power plays instead of serving the teams and leaders they support. Or they sidestep difficult conversations and let teams wander aimlessly to avoid conflict.

If the "coach" lacks qualities such as humility, service orientation, self-awareness, and long-term thinking, he or she may gain certification but not coach the company effectively. The damage left by authoritarian consultants, evasive enablers, and clever do-gooders posing as pseudo-psychologists threatens to outweigh the benefits of experienced Agile coaches.

A friend who does leadership training once told me that he gets his clients to relive their painful experiences and feel the emotions of those moments in their fullness. If you put a person with depression in that situation, it can be very dangerous. Unqualified people who give intense emotional experiences can be psychologically and emotionally harmful.

For someone already struggling with a mental illness like depression, reliving trauma or intense stressful life events can be destabilizing. Their ability to cope with difficult emotions may already be impaired, and putting them in a vulnerable state without adequate support could exacerbate symptoms, limit functioning, and exacerbate unhealthy thinking patterns.

Those without psychological training cannot anticipate how different people will react to emotionally upsetting situations. They aren't able to assess whether someone is ready and able to handle this type of stress. They aren't able to mitigate negative effects or take appropriate action when a participant becomes distressed.

In the best-case scenario, a customer goes home unchanged with a lighter wallet. In the worst case, he or she could be harmed by careless or incompetent emotional manipulation, loss of stability, or even dangerous behavior triggered by a reckless disregard for psychological safety. For people in a fragile state of mental health, improperly guided "emotional labor" poses serious risks of breakdown, crisis, and permanent damage.

Any practices that involve "getting in touch with your feelings" or intentionally activating intense mental states should only be led by licensed health professionals with appropriate training and supervisory responsibilities (not an Agile Coach or Leadership consultant!).

They have the knowledge and experience to help vulnerable people cope with difficult personal tasks in a compassionate, ethical, and responsible manner.

A good Agile Coach knows the limits of their abilities and doesn't put their clients at undue risk out of ambition, arrogance, or ignorance. Some situations require psychological expertise to avoid inadvertently doing harm when you mean to do good. Emotional labor is one of them.

I've looked at different areas in this little article. What is your opinion? Do you have any experiences you want to share?