Agile Notes (No. 35)

Hey, all! We are continuing our re-read of the EXCELLENT Coaching Agile Teams by Lyssa Adkins. This week Chapter 7: Coach as Teacher.

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Lots of doubled-up highlights in this chapter. It closes with the “roles within the role” of being an Agile Coach. These also apply to Scrum Masters. Are there lines between Agile Coach and Scrum Master? They really feel very similar to me.

I particularly love the first term of each definition: helps, guides, serves, and examines. As always there is a ton of great information and guidance packed into this chapter. It was hard to pick one. Ultimately, I chose this one because I am wrestling with what role is best suited to me. Do I REALLY want to be an Agile Coach? Or do I just want to be a Scrum Master? OR….am I best suited as a Release Train Engineer/Release Manager? These are the questions I am dealing with currently. :)

This second reading of Coaching Agile Teams is really producing some soul searching for me. I think the introspection is one of the outcomes that Lyssa intended. How can we learn and grow without introspection?

I read some of the same subjects repeatedly. Stoicism. Buddhism. Joseph Campbell. Thomas Merton. There is a Venn diagram connecting all of those for me. I find the repetition INCREDIBLY helpful both as reminders but also going deeper each time I return to a particular thought or teaching. Coaching Agile Teams might have to get added to that cycle.

Please share in the comments if you have gone through similar experiences. I would love to hear about the situation and what you did to overcome it.

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