Three lessons I’ve learned from my Agile Coaching journey…so far!
I’ve been on this Agile Coaching journey for a few years now. I’ve learned so much already, but I’m also very aware that there’s still so much more to learn! One thing that has really helped me so far is taking the time for reflection and retrospection. Today, I’m taking some to think about some of the lessons I’ve learned from my journey — so far!
As I look back, three key lessons come to my mind:
#1- I only have to be a half-step ahead
Lyssa Adkins advocates for half-step ahead coaching in her book Coaching Agile Teams. I really love this simple lesson- don’t get too far ahead. The biggest impacts can be made when we see what’s close. So many times in work, and in life, we feel like we need to rush ahead to think about and solve all of the problems (many that aren’t even yet a reality). What if we took on this philosophy of just being a half-step ahead? That would mean that we limit the scope of our worries and take a lot of pressure off of ourselves to have all the answers right away — remembering that the speed of change means that the worries of today may not be the worries of tomorrow. Being too far ahead can also overwhelm our colleagues (or coachees), when we expect them to be further from where they actually are. Agile coaching asks us to meet individuals and teams right where they are and to help them to make small, even micro, changes to start to see improvements. So don’t jump too far ahead. By staying just a half-step ahead, we benefit ourselves and others!
This leads to the second lesson…
#2- We don’t always have to have all the answers
Coaching has at its core the truth that people have the answers inside themselves and we just have to ask the right questions to draw them out. So often I’ve been humbled by the solutions the team brings to the table to deal with a situation they are facing. They are the experts, we can and should trust them to discover their own solutions. This takes the load off of our shoulders to be a master in all areas, to have all the answers, and instead allows us to just focus on mastering our own craft of coaching- to observe and ask the right questions to draw out the solutions that will best serve the people who know best! This can be applied to so many other areas of life. Instead of trying to come into situations with all the answers, can we simply think of some powerful questions that will help others get the answers they truly need?
#3- Vulnerability is a strength
So often, we steer clear of the touchy feely, emotional parts of life to focus on the cold hard work. Does vulnerability and emotions really have a place in the workplace? Agile, and especially Scrum, encourages us live the values of openness and courage. Through those values teams and individuals come to see vulnerability as a great strength. Being open and honest about our personal and professional struggles, celebrating our successes and even just being open when we’re having a bad day can make us more approachable and draw us closer to our colleagues.
Agile and coaching offers so many lessons we can apply to our work and our life! This really is a learning journey and I can’t wait to see what other lessons there are to discover along the way!
