Three Ways Agile Coaching Makes You Look Smarter
Learning Agile terms, processes, and methodologies is one thing. Putting them into practice is quite another.
Many times, teams or even entire organizations will get off on the right foot by obtaining some fantastic Agile training and filling their heads with the knowledge they need to get started. Then, things fall apart before the tires meet the road.
Other companies aren’t like that.
They start out great, and they just get better. They seem to effortlessly transition from traditional to Agile methods in record time, with little or no work load effect, and with a big smile on their face.
What’s the difference?
Are the people in those companies just smarter?
No, but they look that way.
Here’s why:
Faster Problem Solving
Embedded in the background of successful companies that make Agile transformation look like a well-oiled machine, you often find a high-quality Agile coach.
These companies experience few hang-ups or speed bumps because when issues start to arise they know just where to turn: to their Agile coach.
In most cases, their coach will have already foreseen major problems, discussed them with the team and/or leadership, and worked around them before the team even knows they existed.
That makes the company’s transformation very fast.
Consistent Integration
Without a coach in the background helping everyone see the big picture, an Agile transformation has a tendency to be siloed: one team does it this way, another does it that way, one applies 30% of what they learn, another applies 40%…
This kind of partial integration leads to inefficiency at best and chaos at worst.
A professional Agile coach helps all teams apply the same methods at the same time in the same way, integrating consistency and accountability.
Having a point person to lead the transformation makes is easier to fully assimilate Agile into the organizational culture.
More Practical
During the days and weeks following training, many would-be Agile practitioners are understandably lost in a haze of “what do we do now?”
The reason?
Even the best Agile trainer must cover a lot of information in a short amount of time and make the material understandable and applicable to the individual students’ situations.
Then, once training is done, it’s up to those students to come back to their jobs and start putting what they learned into practice, which is a difficult proposition.
With a professional Agile coach on hand, these employees return from training with an in-house guide telling them what step to take next, providing timely reminders of intricacies from their training that could otherwise be overlooked or forgotten, and generally helping them turn theory into practical reality in their day-to-day work.
Not only do the employees look smarter, but everyone responsible for the transformation moves up a notch.
Do you want to look smarter?
Why not find out what a professional Agile coach can do for your organization?
