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 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.  

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.