Why Agile Coaching?

What follows are steps in a development path. They are not roles or jobs. Organizations will create roles and positions that may or may not map to these steps, but we strongly encourage the perspective that all of these skills are necessary for everyone functioning as an Agile coach, no matter their scope or level of influence. Broadly, those steps are described below.

The Agile Team Facilitation Step (ICP-ATF)

Operating at the team facilitation step, agile coaches learn the core skills of facilitation and gain the self-leadership needed to use them well. For those working with teams on the-ground, facilitation skills are the first step because they pave the way for teams to achieve true empowerment, collaboration, and ownership of their actions and decisions. In this way, facilitation skills help the vision of agile-done-well come true. This step is important for coaches operating at any level of an organization or scope of influence, whether that is with one team, a group of teams, an executive team or a whole organization. Further, the skills learned at this step may also provide value for learners in other disciplines, such as product ownership, technical leadership, or delivery management. Finally, although it is the first step in this development progression, it is not “for beginners only.”

The Agile Coaching Step (ICP-ACC)

At the Agile Coaching step, the coach has expert-level understanding of current lean agile practices; is significantly skilled in team facilitation; and has developed some professional coaching and mentoring skill. Coaches with these skills are likely operating at a scope of several teams or a program, starting new teams, mentoring others, or spending significant time working with managers and engaging with impediments outside the direct control of teams.

The Agile Coaching For Enterprises Step

Coaches operating at this enterprise coaching step (which is addressed in another ICAgile track called Enterprise Agile Coaching) have developed advanced systems coaching, organizational development, culture, change management and leadership skills and uses those skills to affect organizations at large. An Enterprise Agile Coach works at all levels in an organization to help the organization use agile as a strategic asset for business value generation, which often includes culture change.

Agile Coaching Influence And Impact

This diagram articulates the different spaces of impact, change, and intervention where Agile Coaches may interact — where they have to work. This track emphasises that to effectively impact the outer bands, one must have done the work on the inside – starting with the self. The Learning Objectives (LOs) in the Agile Coaching Track focus on competencies required for self, individuals, team and program level impact. The Enterprise Coaching Track builds upon the LOs in this track and adds a focus for Program and Organizational level impact. The scope of leadership expands, self, team, multi-team, enterprise, one’s leadership, focus, capability and gravitas need to also grow to be effective at those different levels.