Coaching Agile Teams: A Companion for ScrumMasters, Agile Coaches, and Project Managers in Transition
The Provocative and Practical Guide to Coaching Agile Teams \ As an agile coach, you can help project teams become outstanding at agile, creating products that make them proud and helping organizations reap the powerful benefits of teams that deliver both innovation and excellence.\ More and more frequently, ScrumMasters and project managers are being asked to coach agile teams. But it’s a challenging role. It requires new skills—as well as a subtle understanding of when to step in and when...
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The Provocative and Practical Guide to Coaching Agile TeamsAs an agile coach, you can help project teams become outstanding at agile, creating products that make them proud and helping organizations reap the powerful benefits of teams that deliver both innovation and excellence.More and more frequently, ScrumMasters and project managers are being asked to coach agile teams. But it’s a challenging role. It requires new skills—as well as a subtle understanding of when to step in and when to step back. Migrating from “command and control” to agile coaching requires a whole new mind-set.In Coaching Agile Teams, Lyssa Adkins gives agile coaches the insights they need to adopt this new mind-set and to guide teams to extraordinary performance in a re-energized work environment. You’ll gain a deep view into the role of the agile coach, discover what works and what doesn’t, and learn how to adapt powerful skills from many allied disciplines, including the fields of professional coaching and mentoring.Coverage includesUnderstanding what it takes to be a great agile coachMastering all of the agile coach’s roles: teacher, mentor, problem solver, conflict navigator, and performance coachCreating an environment where self-organized, high-performance teams can emergeCoaching teams past cooperation and into full collaboration Evolving your leadership style as your team grows and changesStaying actively engaged without dominating your team and stunting its growthRecognizing failure, recovery, and success modes in your coachingGetting the most out of your own personal agile coaching journeyWhether you’re an agile coach, leader, trainer, mentor, facilitator, ScrumMaster, project manager, product owner, or team member, this book will help you become skilled at helping others become truly great. What could possibly be more rewarding?
Foreword by Mike Cohn xiiiForeword by Jim Highsmith xvAcknowledgments xviiIntroduction xixAbout the Author xxvPart I: It Starts with You 1Chapter 1: Will I Be a Good Coach? 3Why Agile Coaching Matters 4The Agile Coaching Context 5Let’s Get Our Language Straight 8Move Toward Agile Coaching 9An Agile Coach Emerges 15Native Wiring 16Make Agile Coaching Your Personal Expression 18A Refresher 18Additional Resources 19Chapter 2: Expect High Performance 21Set the Expectation 22Introduce a Metaphor for High Performance 23The Destination Never Comes 29A Refresher 30Additional Resources 30References 31Chapter 3: Master Yourself 33Start with Self-Awareness 35Recover from Command-and-Control-ism 40Prepare for the Day Ahead 43Practice in the Moment 46Be a Model for Them 53Support Yourself 53Always Work on Yourself 54A Refresher 55Additional Resources 55References 56Chapter 4: Let Your Style Change 59Agile Team Stages 60Agile Coach Styles 64Feel Free to Let Your Style Change 67A Refresher 70Additional Resources 70References 70Part II: Helping the Team Get More for Themselves 73Chapter 5: Coach as Coach-Mentor 75What Is Agile Coaching? 76What Are We Coaching For? 77Coaching at Two Levels 78Coaching People One-on-One 83Coaching Product Owners 97Coaching Agile Coaches 107Coaching Agile Managers 109A Refresher 114Additional Resources 114References 115Chapter 6: Coach as Facilitator 117Wield a Light Touch 119Facilitate the Stand-Up 119Facilitate Sprint Planning 123Facilitate the Sprint Review 128Facilitate the Retrospective 132Facilitate During Team Conversations 136Professional Facilitator and Agile Coach 142A Refresher 143Additional Resources 143References 144Chapter 7: Coach as Teacher 145Teach During the Team Start-Up 146Teach New Team Members 169Use Teachable Moments 170Teach Agile Roles All the Time 170A Refresher 180Additional Resources 181References 181Chapter 8: Coach as Problem Solver 183An Agile Problem Solving Rubric 185Problems Arise and Are Sought 186See Problems Clearly 192Resolve Problems 196A Refresher 200Additional Resources 201References 201Chapter 9: Coach as Conflict Navigator 203The Agile Coach’s Role in Conflict 204Five Levels of Conflict 204What Level of Conflict Is Present? 207What Should You Do About It? 211Carrying Complaints 217Unsolvable Conflict 221A Last Word on Conflict 225A Refresher 226Additional Resources 226References 226Chapter 10: Coach as Collaboration Conductor 229Collaboration or Cooperation? 231From Cooperation to Collaboration 232Build Individual Collaborators 233Surplus Ideas Required 238Build the Team’s Collaboration Muscle 239Reveal the Heart of Collaboration 251A Refresher 253Additional Resources 253References 254Part III: Getting More for Yourself 257Chapter 11: Agile Coach Failure, Recovery, and Success Modes 259Agile Coach Failure Modes 260Where Do Failure Modes Come From? 261Recover from Failure Modes 263Agile Coach Success Modes 266Practice, Practice 268A Refresher 269Additional Resources 269References 270Chapter 12: When Will I Get There? 271Agile Coach Skills 272Beyond a List of Skills 279A Refresher 285Additional Resources 286References 286Chapter 13: It’s Your Journey 287Agile Coach Journeys 288A Refresher 305Additional Resources 305References 305Index 307
\ From the Publisher“ The subtitle of this book says it is for ‘ScrumMasters, Agile Coaches, and Project Managers,’ however, its guidance and advice extend to anyone associated with an agile (Scrum) team. It will also certainly help team members better understand their relationship to the work ScrumMasters, agile coaches, and project managers do for the team. And, beyond this, the book can be valuable to anyone working in a coaching capacity with any group of people, expanding the book’s application beyond agile-based efforts.” \ —Scott Duncan, Agile Coach\ “ Lyssa explains brilliantly how skills from professional coaching can be applied to coaching agile software development teams. What I love about this book is how Lyssa brings practical advice to life by relating it to everyday experiences we all recognize. An essential guide for every agile manager’s bookshelf.”\ —Rachel Davies, author of Agile Coaching\ “ As I read this book I could actually hear Lyssa’s voice, guiding me and sparking precious ‘a-ha moments.’ This truly is the next best thing to having an experienced and wise coach sitting by your side, helping you be the best coach you can be for your team.”\ —Kris Blake, agile coach\ “ Lyssa Adkins presents agile coaching in a gentle style with firm underpinnings. She resolves the paradox of how coaching can help a team to self-organize, and shows how a nurturing environment can push teams to perform better than ever.”\ —Bill Wake, Industrial Logic, Inc.\ “ I love Lyssa’s three qualities of an agile coach—loving, compassionate, uncompromising—sweet. Every chapter offers a compelling blend of philosophy and action, framework and freedom, approach and avoidance, as any agile book should. Coaching Agile Teams is a good candidate to become dog-eared on my desktop rather than looking good on my bookshelf. The depth and quality of expertise that Lyssa sought, sampled, and sounded out along her own coaching journey have been synthesized in her own voice of experience.”\ —Christopher Avery, Responsibility Process mentor, www.LeadershipGift.com\ “ In my experience with agile projects, the agile coach is one of the most important roles to get right. Coaching Agile Teams by Lyssa Adkins gives the details and practical insights for what it takes to be a great agile coach.”\ —Dave Hendricksen, software architect, Thomson-Reuters\ “ I remember the first time I met Lyssa at a Scrum gathering in Orlando, and realized very quickly how inspirational she would become in the agile community. This book encapsulates her thoughts and ideas into a fantastic literary work that, I believe, fills a void in our community. We knew the role of a coach was needed, but for a long time we were not sure what that role actually was. We struggled as a community to explain what to do, when to do it, and what to do next. Lyssa not only collates all of the things we as coaches aspire to be, but has provided some great advice with realistic direction on how to be the best coach you can be for your team.”\ —Martin Kearns, CSC + CST, Principal Consultant, Renewtek ply. Ltd.\ \ \
