Take a look at the presentation and let me know if you are interested in our Agile coach academy also for your existing Agile PMs and Scrum Masters. Not everyone is interested in coaching, public speaking, mentoring, designing and teaching. It is a "mindset" and many of the skills come with talent, practice and mindset.
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| Copyright Agile Media Consulting 2013 |
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| Copyright Agile Media Consulting 2013 |
Let me explain the 10 main areas that a good Agile coach should have experience in. But first a couple of disclaimers: there is no way that a coach can be equally experienced or good in all of these areas. Some are more important for certain projects than others. It all comes down to what a specific company needs. Also, having experience in product development and with the development process at companies is very helpful. I am for example coming from a Media and Technology product development background. I worked in Film, TV, Internet, Mobile and related Digital Media in my career as a Producer, Product Manager, and even Director of Product Development in those industries. That is why my primary focus has been media and entertainment and their technology divisions. However, I am also developing a system and have catered to other industries as I am able to adapt to processes in different industries. But it is helpful to know what all team members and the company work on.
But let me go into more detail on what I mean with those 10 areas of expertise for an Agile coach:
1. Testing - Not quality assurance testing but organizational testing and assessment. Testing and assessment based on sound psychological principles which I have been introduced to as an Organizational Psychologist Ph.D. candidate and I am focusing aspects of my academic research and part of my dissertation on "Testing and Assessment for Agile Teams". It is extremely helpful to know about certain tools (there are over 200 available to psychologists) and some might be crucial in the individual team member or group assessment phase. The MBTI for example can help establish preferences of certain team members when it comes to certain roles. I found this to be particularly helpful when looking for good Scrum Master personality types.
2. Instructional Design - This is just like no. 1 an actual career for some. I worked as a Director of Instructional Design at USC for a while and also taught classes and created my own curricula at USC for over six years. Here is the trick: everyone can create a presentation but designing a workshop or a class takes a certain skill and experience. The material needs to be paced and be delivered in a way that it will most optimally help the students absorb the new knowledge and ideally also practice it. It also includes designing exercises, tests, resource materials, and group instruction concepts.
3. Agile Methodologies - This one is a given as this describes skills for an Agile coach. It should not just mean a certification. It should include also not just application as a Scrum Master or Product Owner over a number of years. It should include transforming teams to go Agile and applying and optimizing while continuously assessing. Ideally building an Agile PMO should be part of the experience that an Agile coach has. And finally, an understanding of other methodologies and how they relate to Agile and why Scrum is better for some teams while others can benefit from a Kanban system or XP. Knowledge of Lean principles as a complement to the Agile Methodologies "umbrella" is a big bonus as well.
4. Teaching - This takes skill, talent, experience, and mindset. One major skill I find useful is to be able to listen. Others include adjusting to a class and customize materials on the fly, the ability to break down complex knowledge and convey it to the students, and a passion for the subject. Academic teaching and/or corporate training experience a big plus.
5. Coaching 1:1 - Different from teaching in that there is no set curriculum and it is often hands-on. It is an experiential way of working with clients, students, etc and includes all skill sets and expertise areas mentioned in this post. Also, coaching an executive demands a different level of expertise than coaching a PM. There is a whole specialty in Organizational Psychology devoted to executive and leadership coaching for that reason. Big Plus: Be inspirational and empower team members as a coach. It helps you to initiate change and keeps you influential while building the company team members to be self-sufficient.
6. Coaching Organizational Teams or Groups - Please see number 5. Coaching groups demands that one can work with a set of different personalities and experience levels at the same time. Also, keeping everyone including yourself focused and having an immaculate sense of timing what helps the most when.
7. Project Management - Agile Methodologies are based on a certain type of Project Management. Most Agile experts have worked as and coach other Agile PMs and Scrum Masters. Nobody can teach someone to be a good Project Manager, it is a "mindset". Superior organizational and management skills are a huge plus. Even better if you have built a PMO and/or helped optimize processes as a Program Manager while overseeing Project Managers and a number of large scale projects.
8. Operations - As an Agile coach one needs to assess and then help optimize how teams work. Operational experience and knowledge is very helpful. Program Managers are typically involved in the "how to" and process-oriented side of a company's business. Know how to optimize operations and you make a better Agile coach!
9. Leadership - Not everyone has that skill or talent. It also takes practice and is a mindset. Good coaches know that the best leaders are servants to their people and empower themselves with a great team around them while gently guiding everyone to success. There is obviously much more to it but if someone believes they are a natural born leader they naturally gravitate towards coaching opportunities in various areas of their life so this is another area that is more of a mindset.
10. Management - Skills for the most part but also heavily dependent on experience and the right mindset. A lot of what I stated in 9. applies. A manager needs to be in an Agile environment a collaborator, team player, builder, and evangelist. Good managers put people over profit although this is just my opinion and some are just catching up on what companies need in 2013 and beyond which is inspiration over ambition and collaboration over competition. Management skills also demand superior listening skills, compassion, patience and at times being able to "herd the cats". Care for your people and they care for your company! The best compliment someone gave me was that I made a difference in his organization as a coach as I "inspired performance while really caring for the people".
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| Copyright Agile Media Consulting 2013
I predict coaches, and I mean not just Agile coaches, are going to be in even more demand in the future and companies need to adapt and even transform how they work continuously. There are also other coaches and modalities that can complement Agile coaching and I talk about that in my presentation as well. There is really no limit as to what background and other training a good coach can have.
To schedule an appointment if interested in coaching, training up your existing resources to be coaches if qualified, etc. please contact me directly at: patricia@agilemediaconsulting.com
Best,
Patricia Anglano
Lead Agile Coach and Consultant
Instructor, Agile Project Management Class Series
President/Founder Agile Media Consulting LLC
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