Agile Coach Quotes

We practice mastering ourselves in the moment so that we can better open ourselves to being a servant leader and to harness our emotions and choose what to do with our reactions.

Over-seriousness is a warning sign for mediocrity and bureaucratic thinking. People who are seriously committed to mastery and high performance are secure enough to lighten up. —Michael J. Gelb

What you do matters; why you do it matters more.

I noticed a bumper sticker that said, simply, "gravity works." yes it does. Rock climbers know this and plan for it. So do agile coaches. I use this metaphor to illustrate that, in our physical environment, somethings are simply taken as a given. Constant. Always present. Undeniable. So, too, in our work environment.

If you have a problem and to solve it you need someone else to change, you don’t understand your problem yet

To be full of love and enthusiasm for your work is a prerequisite for collaboration, a professional obligation;

The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem. —Theodore Rubin

Thriving in today’s marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile.

By adopting an agile mindset and providing improved engagement, collaboration, transparency, and adaptability via Scrum's values, roles, events, and artifacts, the results were excellent.

A maxim in the theater tells us this: On time is already late (Devin 2009). That is, if we arrive at work on time with our bodies only, having not groomed our minds to collaborate, we are simply late. Unprepared.

What progress has your client made over the last month, the last week, and yesterday? •   Are they on track to meet their goals? •   How have you been showing up as a coach (stances, EQ, sensing, meeting the clients where they are)?

While it is not unheard of, most sane people would be embarrassed to take an introductory martial arts class and then develop their own “martial art” from it and teach it to unsuspecting students, exposing them to the danger of miscalculating their effectiveness at defending themselves in a critical situation. Yet agile practitioners do this every day ― some do not even feel any sense of shame for calling themselves “agile coaches” after a year of practical experience.

Agile coach: The individual is an agile expert who provides guidance for new agile implementations as well as existing agile teams. The agile coach is experienced in employing agile techniques in different environments and has successfully run diverse agile projects. The individual builds and maintains relationships with everyone involved, coaches individuals, trains groups, and facilitates interactive workshops. The agile coach is typically from outside the organization, and the role may be temporary or permanent.

Tennis lessons westlake village provide a good coaching for youngest.Because that are very experiance men in tennis.His students on the importance of strength and agility training as well as mental and psychological strength and the roles they play within the game of tennis.

Ellen Braun, an accomplished agile manager, noticed that different behaviors emerge over time as telltale signs of a team’s emotional maturity, a key component in their ability to adjust as things happen to them and to get to the tipping point when “an individual’s self interest shifts to alignment with the behaviors that support team achievement” (Braun 2010). It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers. —James Thurber Team Dynamics Survey Ellen created a list of survey questions she first used as personal reflection while she observed teams in action. Using these questions the same way, as a pathway to reflection, an agile coach can gain insight into potential team problems or areas for emotional growth. Using them with the team will be more insightful, perhaps as material for a retrospective where the team has the time and space to chew on the ideas that come up. While the team sprints, though, mull them over on your own, and notice what they tell you about team dynamics (Braun 2010). • How much does humor come into day-to-day interaction within the team? • What are the initial behaviors that the team shows in times of difficulty and stress? • How often are contradictory views raised by team members (including junior team members)? • When contradictory views are raised by team members, how often are they fully discussed? • Based on the norms of the team, how often do team members compromise in the course of usual team interactions (when not forced by circumstances)? • To what extent can any team member provide feedback to any other team member (think about negative and positive feedback)? • To what extent does any team member actually provide feedback to any other team member? • How likely would it be that a team member would discuss issues with your performance or behavior with another team member without giving feedback to you directly (triangulating)? • To what extent do you as an individual get support from your team on your personal career goals (such as learning a new skill from a team member)? • How likely would you be to ask team members for help if it required your admission that you were struggling with a work issue? • How likely would you be to share personal information with the team that made you feel vulnerable? • To what extent is the team likely to bring into team discussions an issue that may create conflict or disagreement within the team? • How likely or willing are you to bring into a team discussion an issue that is likely to have many different conflicting points of view? • If you bring an item into a team discussion that is likely to have many different conflicting points of view, how often does the team reach a consensus that takes into consideration all points of view and feels workable to you? • Can you identify an instance in the past two work days when you felt a sense of warmth or inclusion within the context of your team? • Can you identify an instance in the past two days when you felt a sense of disdain or exclusion within the context of your team? • How much does the team make you feel accountable for your work? Mulling over these questions solo or posing them to the team will likely generate a lot of raw material to consider. When you step back from the many answers, perhaps one or two themes jump out at you, signaling the “big things” to address.

When the soldiers entered the woods moments later, they found only a servant girl leading two goats instead of the fleeing coach with the agile carriage horses they were looking for. “Spread

When Dev teams had problems with testing or deployment, they needed more than just technology or environments. What they also needed was help and coaching. At first, we embedded Ops engineers and architects into each of the Dev teams, but there simply weren’t enough Ops engineers to cover that many teams. We were able to help more teams with what we called an Ops liaison model and with fewer people.

My goal is to honor the client and partner with them to design the right solutions for them. I should make an impact on the client’s world. However, I should never produce carbon copies of myself. I want people to think and to solve problems in ways that work for them.

There is no single way to be a great coach. Every person develops their own style of coaching based on their personality, unique talents, and everything that makes them who they are as a person. To be a great coach, you need to practice, incorporate feedback, and learn from those who are already further along in their coaching journey.

So what is the “secret sauce” of long-term healthy running? • Slow down! • Run for joy • Recover • Do not run too hard • Finish each run as if you could do it again • Keep fast and agile with short sprints and drills • Keep mobile, especially in the ankles and hips • Keep your foundation strong—this is your foot. Wear flat shoes shaped like your foot to stand, walk, run, and play. • Go barefoot as often as you can. • Learn the skill of running and keep trying to master this. A tool like TrueForm motor-less treadmill helps. • Do simple strength training with Kettle Bells and Burpees • Be your own body sensor and coach • Don’t sit • Eat real food • Do not put pain into your body • And pass it forward—we all continue to learn by teaching and sharing with others.

Coach/Mentor – select team, location, lead, connects the team to the rest of the organization, support self-management and self-discipline.

Recommended Reading Lyssa Adkins in her book Coaching Agile Teams describes the responsibilities and working methods for the agile coach. She provides details on the skills, techniques, and methods an agile coach can use to develop into a seasoned mentor and coach. Jean Tabaka in her book Collaboration Explained describes the content, structure, techniques, and tools for executing collaborative events. Kaner et al. offer practical advice on facilitating decision-making in their book the Dynamics of Group Decision-Making.

The agile coach is a new role that requires a selection of soft skills to be successfully. A good agile coach will be able to build the team, and coach them in decision-making, problem solving and conflict resolution. The agile coach should also facilitate that the team learns from their experience, that project impediments are quickly removed, and that the stakeholder’s expectations are managed.

It is often a devastating question to ask oneself, but it is sometimes important to ask it—‘In saying what I have in mind will I really improve on the silence?’” (

True compassion is not just an emotional response but a firm commitment founded on reason. Because of this firm foundation, a truly compassionate attitude toward others does not change even if they behave negatively. Genuine compassion is based not on our own projections and expectations, but rather on the needs of the other: irrespective of whether another person is a close friend or an enemy, as long as that person wishes for peace and happiness and wishes to overcome suffering, then on that basis we develop genuine concern for their problem. This is genuine compassion (The Dalai Lama 2003).

When you need me but do not want me, then I must stay. When you want me but no longer need me, then I have to go.” — Nanny McPhee (via Lyssa Adkins) I am an Agile coach and the goal of my job is to put myself out of a…

A ScrumMaster who takes teams beyond getting agile practices up and running into their deliberate and joyful pursuit of high performance is an agile coach.

a true natural servant automatically responds to any problem by listening first.

Warm Up Stretch   6 Rounds for Time   400   meter Run 10     Push-ups 10     Sit-ups 10     Burpees   Cool Down Stretch Recon ** (Ability/Agility)   Warm Up Stretch   10 Rounds for Completion   10     Handstand Push-ups 30     second Squat Hold 60     second plank 30     second Mountain Climbers 10     Burpees   Cool Down Stretch

Telling your truth with compassion instead of delivering “constructive” criticism

Scrum Master The scrum master acts as a coach, guiding the team to ever-higher levels of cohesiveness, self-organization, and performance. While a team’s deliverable is the product, a scrum master’s deliverable is a high-performing, self-organizing team. The scrum master is the team’s good shepherd, its champion, guardian, facilitator, and scrum expert.  The scrum master helps the team learn and apply scrum and related agile practices to the team’s best advantage. The scrum master is constantly available to the team to help them remove any impediments or road-blocks that are keeping them from doing their work. The scrum master is not—we repeat, not—the team’s boss. This is a peer position on the team, set apart by knowledge and responsibilities not rank.

An ADAPTAGILITY High Performance coach can reveal options and choices that you did not see, and then set you up with accountability and rewards, to follow through fully, to take SWIFT action, on your best choices.

Strong contracts are the basis for strong working relationships. They clearly define how we work together and we know how we will handle things when problems arise. With that out of the way, we can trust each other and put all our energy in collaborating and focusing on the work at hand.

1) What will be different about my interactions if I genuinely and authentically believe that every person in the organization I am coaching is completely competent and they do not need me to fix them, 2) In what ways have I been judging the people in the organizations I have coached to be incompetent, which means they need me to learn to do things properly.

Beyond the company results the team is asked to produce, teams need something else to strive for—something to change the hamster wheel into a journey of their own making. Instead of seeing the same scenery in the hamster wheel again and again, they need to see different signposts and landmarks along the way indicating progress toward something resonant and worthwhile. This “something” is the quest for high performance. It’s the daily act of, together, striving to be the best they can be.

Consider expanding your library by one or two “get here, get present” books so you can allow their wisdom to help you cultivate your presence. Such titles on my bookshelf, other than the one I just mentioned, are The Tao of Holding Space by Chris Corrigan The Parent’s Tao Te Ching by William Martin The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra Comfortable with Uncertainty by Pema Chodron The Compassionate Life by the Dalai Lama

There are unfortunately too many coaches who once they have secured a high-paying year-long contract will not use that time to help the organization along, but suddenly develop a lot of understanding for the PMO, partially to have a more comfortable life (sometimes under the disguise of not being a Scrum Nazi)

Brainstorming is not about HOW; but How-To-Wow.

Brainstorming is to aim for alternatives.

Tougher the project; Agiler the approach.

Agile; a little fragile; handle with care.

Experiments in the complex problem domain are the changes you make. They are not to learn about the system from a third-party perspective or from some sense of meta about the organisation. The experiment is the actual change you make towards the system being in balance with its changing environment.

The Agile project manager plays a crucial role in ensuring the successful delivery of projects using Agile methodologies. They act as facilitators, coaches, and leaders, guiding the team through the iterative development process. Here are some key responsibilities of an Agile project manager: Orchestrating the project's lifecycle: This involves planning and breakdown of work into sprints, facilitating ceremonies like daily stand-ups, sprint planning, and retrospectives, and ensuring the project progresses smoothly towards its goals. Promoting collaboration and communication: Agile thrives on open communication and collaboration. The project manager fosters an environment where team members feel comfortable sharing ideas, concerns, and updates. They actively remove roadblocks and ensure everyone is aligned with the project vision and goals. Empowering the team: Agile teams are self-organizing and empowered to make decisions. The project manager provides guidance and support but avoids micromanaging. They trust the team's expertise and encourage them to take ownership of their work. Stakeholder management: The project manager acts as a bridge between the development team and stakeholders, including clients, sponsors, and other interested parties. They keep stakeholders informed of project progress, manage expectations, and address their concerns. Continuous improvement: Agile is an iterative process that emphasizes continuous improvement. The project manager actively seeks feedback from team members and stakeholders, analyzes project data, and identifies areas for improvement. They implement changes to the process and tools to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. Overall, the Agile project manager plays a vital role in driving successful project delivery through Agile methodologies. They wear multiple hats, acting as facilitators, coaches, leaders, and problem-solvers, ensuring the team has the resources, support, and environment they need to thrive.

1992—Sir John Whitmore published what is considered to be one of the founding texts of the coaching industry, Coaching for Performance[6]. I strongly recommend anyone who is a coach or intends to be, to read this book. 1995—The first professional association body to provide coaching standards was founded, the (ICF) International Coach Federation[7].

Perhaps the greatest difference between coaching and consulting is where the intellectual authority lies. Coaching is a partnership, with the coach and client collaborating primarily using the client’s intellectual authority and experience to design new experiments, decisions, and ideas. With coaching, the client is the one with the answers. It is not the coach’s job to advise and instruct, but to ask challenging questions, make observations, and open new perspectives, so the client can see options and plan the best solutions for their environment. Coaches help clients take time to reflect, learn, and develop new ways of thinking. With consulting, the intellectual authority is typically in the hands of the consultant. Clients turn to consultants for advice, instructions, and professional opinions because the consultant can provide answers in areas where the client does not have the experience or expertise. Consultants often step in and do work for the clients.

Sin saberlo, Federico estaba creándose otro de los enemigos típicos del aprendizaje: “esto para mi es imposible de aprender, nunca voy a poder operar Solution Manager”. Al creer que no vamos a poder aprender determinada cosa nos estamos condicionando a que así sea.

Leaders set the example through coaching, empowering, and engaging individuals and teams to reach their highest potential.

When we focus on clarifying what is being observed, felt, and needed rather than on diagnosing and judging, we discover the depth of our own compassion.

We can live and work more effectively with others when we identify their Tendencies - as coworkers and bosses, teachers and coaches, husbands and wives, parents and children, health-care providers and patients.

The Agile certifications that exist are a complete joke and an utter absurdity. Do not take the certifications seriously. The training that accompanies the certification programs is often worthwhile; however, that training should not be focused on a particular role, it should be for everyone on the team. For example, the fact that someone is “certified” a Scrum Master is a worthless certification. The certifiers are not guaranteeing anything other than that the person paid the fee for, and possibly attended, a two-day course. The certifiers are specifically not guaranteeing that the newly minted Scrum Master will do a good job as a coach.” Excerpt From: Robert C. Martin. “Clean Agile: Back to Basics”. Apple Books.

Agile Methodology: Learn from how terror networks work. AGILE methodology is about being able to iterate and reiterate till you get it right. You are always at the start and the end at the same time till the launch. You are more nimble than the waterfall method and more resourceful than the lean method.

A slight shift in perspective changes everything.

Having PMs go out and get certified as ScrumMasters is not sufficient. If a PM mind-set remains, the person will never become a ScrumMaster.

What an internal coach says about his own employer and the conclusions and recommendations a coach gives to his own employer will inevitably influence how an employer treats the coach.

The GAP, or divide, between... Knowing and Doing, is only crossed by people who can effectively, and positively, manage their emotional state, and their inner RESPONSES to the outside world.

As the agile coach, make sure the product owner knows how to prioritize the backlog and when to have it done. Offer to coach him through the thinking needed to prioritize it, but if he declines your offer and shows up to sprint planning with the backlog unprepared, then let the consequences be what they will be. In other words, let the product owner fail.

Basketball coaches want fitter, faster, more explosive athletes. Training for RSA rather than endurance may complement the development of speed, strength, agility, and explosiveness, whereas endurance training has been shown to mute the benefits of training for strength and power.