Agile Transformation and Enterprise Coaching

Agile transformation is not an easy process. Especially if the company is a bigger organization or large corporation, change is slow and often very painful. Any change requires a lot of effort and its success needs support from management / directors / owners.

How does such transformation look like? First of all, you have to have a very good reason for such a change. Agile is changing a culture, mindset, and behavior, and any culture change is always very difficult. However, once you make it, it sticks. If you don’t have any experience with Agile, you might want to start slow - select just one small part of the organization – i.e. one team, one product, one project, and try there Agile, Scrum, Kanban while the rest of the organization will not change yet. It gives you the opportunity to understand what Agile in your company is really about and gain understanding. After such experience, you may continue with a bigger organization change, focusing to the company culture, synchronization across departments, building cross-functional teams, implementing Agile product management - simply creating an Agile organization. 

My Role of Agile and Enterprise Coach

If you still don’t know where to start, you can follow my three levels of successful Agile transformation. You don’t have to start with the first level, there are organizations who already started and need only help with moving to the next stage or just need a different opinion on their current stage. 

LEVEL1: Training and Workshops

Usually, I recommend starting with Agile and Scrum workshop. It’s an interactive class where participants experience Agile and Scrum mindset and gain core knowledge about the implementation. I always prefer two days class as the mindset is hard to get in one day. The class is always adjusted according to the company environment and situation.  

LEVEL2: Transformation / Agile Coaching

Right after the training we usually continue with Agile coaching. This level is focused on practical implementation either on the first pilot or Large Scaling Scrum (i.e. LeSS). I work with ScrumMasters, development team and Product Owners on a regular basis and help them to embrace Agile and Scrum mindset and implement the right mix of Agile practices. The Agile Coaching is not only limited to Scrum Teams but focuses on the management as well. 

Recharge

Sometime after that, the Scrum teams are confident enough so they are ready to continue with Agile transformation by themselves. They are not done, but they have enough ideas how to improve and where shall they move on.

LEVEL3: Next Level / Enterprise Coaching

Finally, the last stage is enterprise coaching. You can start with it at any stage. You don’t even have to be Agile or have implemented Scrum. It’s looking at the organization from the system point of view and leading the company or its part to the next level. In reality, the need can be anything starting from helping us create innovative and creative culture, make teams more self-confident, create real teams from a group of individuals or improve our communication and relationships in the department. I mostly use Organization and Relationship Systems Coaching (ORSC) framework to help organizations to the next level and I don’t only work for teams and departments but often focus on executive teams.

Agile is not end state. It’s a longer journey - the different mindset and philosophy. Enterprise coaching helps you to be better and embrace it.  

Example of the Agile Transformation Support

Agile transformation is not an easy process. Especially if the company is a bigger organization or large corporation, change is slow and often very painful. Any change requires a lot of effort, and its success needs support from management / directors / owners.

Based on our experiences with Agile Transformations globally we suggest the following structure:

1. Alignment workshop: Prepare and facilitate an Alignment workshop to acquire deep insights in Iskraemeco, define its optimization goal, and the metrics we can use to evaluate the generated impact of the change.

• Decide whether or not to continue our partnership based on the above collaboration.

2. Initial Pilot Self-Designing workshop: Have a deeper Initial Pilot Self-Designing workshop to truly kickstart the change, design a plan for the pilot team to start and adjust along the way.

• Decide on the required support level of Training & Mentoring & Coaching

3. Ongoing Support: Initiate the regular ongoing Training & Mentoring & Coaching as an enabler of plans made in the above workshops.

• Adjust days, types according to the needs discovered as needed.

During the workshop, we create an alignment about the overall system model, the potential pilot team, and identify crucial business metrics to be addressed. A workshop will evaluate improvement ideas and foster shared understanding for better decision-making. 

Who should be there?

• Managers that have the mandate to decide on changes to make
• Change leaders, both formal & informal
• Scrum Master / Agile Coach representatives

Suggested duration: 1 day

Follow-up: Zoom follow-up videocalls to finalize the outcomes (about 1-4h)

The key to the success of agile transformation is mastering the self-management. The Self-Designing Workshop gives teams autonomy to co-create their own process in a safe environment starting from day 1. During the workshop, we work with the pilot team to reflect on the transformation metrics, the agile values and principles, and design their own way of working.

Duration: 2 days

Follow-up: Zoom follow-up videocalls to finalize the plan and be ready to roll it out

The two initial workshops are just the beginning. To support the business impact and success the agile transformation, we suggest investing in coaching and mentoring. We typically provide coaching and mentoring support to the Leadership team, Agile coaches, ScrumMasters, Product Owners, and key members of your organization to make sure you have the right knowledge and expertise in place to support the agile transformation.

As a Certified Scrum Trainer, I can also deliver Scrum Alliance certifications, i.e. Certified Scrum Master, Certified Scrum Product Owner, or non-certified team agile workshops. 

Example of the topics for the Agile workshops

Here are some examples of the topics for an Agile Workshop. We always begin by gathering the expectations to ensure the session is valuable and tailored to your needs. Throughout the event, you’ll engage in hands-on activities, discussions, and real-world scenarios that will deepen your understanding of Agile principles and practices.

Foundational Topics

• Agile vs. Traditional Project Management – Key differences and when to use Agile.
• Agile Frameworks Overview – Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, LeSS, and more.
• Scrum in Practice – Roles, artifacts, and events explained with real-world examples.
• Kanban for Project Managers – Workflow visualization, WIP limits, and continuous delivery.
• Agile Transformation – How to start with Agile.

Advanced Agile Topics

• Agile Leadership & Servant Leadership – Leading Agile teams effectively.
• Scaling Agile in Organizations – Best practices for enterprise agility.
• Agile Metrics & KPIs – Measuring success in Agile projects.
• Agile Budgeting & Forecasting – Financial planning in an Agile environment.
• Value-Driven Development – Prioritizing work for maximum impact.

Agile Project Execution

• User Story Mapping & Prioritization – Structuring product backlogs effectively.
• Effective Sprint Planning & Execution – Avoiding common pitfalls.
• Risk Management in Agile – Handling uncertainty and adapting quickly.
• Agile Contracts & Stakeholder Management – Working with external vendors and leadership.
• Agile Retrospectives That Work – Improving team performance continuously.

Team Collaboration & Culture

• High-Performing Agile Teams – Characteristics and how to build them.
• Facilitation Techniques for Agile Teams – Interactive techniques for better meetings.
• Psychological Safety in Agile Teams – Encouraging open communication and trust.
• Conflict Resolution in Agile Environments – Handling disagreements constructively.
• Remote & Distributed Agile Teams – Best practices for virtual collaboration.

Agile Game Simulation – Running an Agile project in a fun, interactive way

• City Building Challenge – Experience Agile principles in action while exploring communication dynamics within a
• team.
• Paper Airplane Workshop – Engage in this exciting activity to discover ways to enhance collaboration within your
• team and with customers.
• Business Value Simulation – Gain hands-on experience in prioritizing tasks and making decisions based on business

value.

Top Agile Experts

There are generally two groups of experts in the Agile world. Trainers and Coaches. Each group focus on the same field but from a different angle. The most recognized are Certified Scrum Trainers® (CST) and Certified Enterprise Coaches (CEC) both linked with Scrum Alliance. Both groups represented top world experts which are proved by highly prestige certifications issued by Scrum Alliance. 

The CST - Certified Scrum Trainers deliver the certification training such as CSM – Certified ScrumMaster, CSPO – Certified Scrum Product Owners to name at least two most well-known certifications. They are experts on agile transformation, and very often they are experienced coaches.

If you are looking for a Certified Agile Coach, make sure you are looking at the Scrum Alliance CEC and CTC’s which are the second group of agile experts. Together with CSTs mentioned before, Certified Enterprise Coaches - CECs are a great help for your organization on your Agile transformation journey while the CTCs – Certified Team Coaches are a great help at the team level. They are all top-notch experts with deep Agile and coaching experience. The ScrumAllinace's key mission is sustainable agility and keeping the quality bar high is one of the most important aspects they take care about. Any of the above certifications (CST, CEC, CTC) are the great choice for your agile transformation.