• Agile Coach

This book is on every Agile coach’s shelf

How do you develop a unit that delivers the highest new value in the shortest amount of time? With the lowest risk of wasted time and budget? Business agility is high on the agenda in every boardroom, because staying valuable by being agile has become survival factor No. 1 today. Therefore, read the book “Agile Coaching” by Adrie Dolman.

This book should be mandatory in the Christmas package of every director, manager or employee of medium and large organizations, where agility is the Achilles heel of the 21st century. The century of rapid disruption and Darwin’s law: it is not the strongest or the smartest who will survive, but the one who can best adapt to change.

What do you read in the book “Agile coaching”?

In the book Agile Coaching, Adrie describes how an Agile Coach develops himself, enabling him to bring organizations into a different flow. An Agile Coach looks at the organization as a system which he develops indirectly, by developing the mindset and skills of the people in that organization.

It helps directors and managers tremendously if they understand how Agile coaching makes their organization more agile. They would do well to also develop Agile coaching skills themselves so that they can live up to their accountability for a value-generating unit and work effectively with an Agile coach.

It helps Agile coaches tremendously if they know the mindset from which they can really make a difference. Agile coaching starts with self-management through introspection and reflection. How do you remain authentic and develop a balanced personality? Only then are you able to coach individuals and teams and develop an Agile organizations.

It starts with…

… why Agile coaching is so important right now. It then clears up some misconceptions by redefining the conceptual framework. This begins with a chronological account of Agile science over the past 400 years. This is followed by outlining the basic knowledge and principles for Agile coaches and a clear definition of what an Agile coach actually is. Complete with a Jip and Janneke version so that this is immediately clear to everyone.

The chapters that follow describe all the development stages for an Agile coach as well as the roles and styles of an Agile coach. The role of an Agile coach is significantly broader than just coaching. An Agile coach facilitates awareness sessions and advises how the organization can develop an effective and psychologically safe environment where multidisciplinary units can work quickly with new insights. He also provides the input of needed knowledge and experience in his role as a teacher or mentor. He facilitates dialogue sessions and training skills in his role as facilitator or trainer. In a safe environment with aware people and the necessary knowledge, coaching makes sense.

Example: black hat discussion

Pungent examples in the book include the Black Pete discussion and the Red Bull racing team. The reader may scratch his or her head behind the ears at first, but the message comes afterwards: what do you feel about this and how do you deal with it? What does that say about yourself and how will you manage it?

Two thirds of the book is followed by vivid real-life examples of what an Agile coach encounters in practice. For many people a feast of recognition. Then it suddenly turns out that all the things described in the book so logically are not yet a walk down the red carpet. A lot of old thinking patterns will have to be broken before Agile coaching is possible in every organization.

The book concludes with a concise toolbox for the Agile coach.

Order your own copy on Businezz.co.uk with the code ScrumAcademy2020 and receive 2.50 discount. The code is valid through Nov. 30.

Enjoy reading!