[teampractices] What does "coach" mean?

Thu May 7 19:51:51 UTC 2015

I love these different definitions and descriptions of "coach" that you
shared Kevin.

Over the last few years, I have come to think of the role of a coach - or
even what the word 'coach' means - as different things in different
contexts. Lyssa Adkins wrote a terrific book that I highly recommend to
folks in the field - "Coaching Agile Teams: A Companion for Scrum Masters,
Agile Coaches, and Project Managers in Transition" - wherein she describes
noticing "three agile coach styles": teaching (crudely: setting and
enforcing rules), coaching (guiding the transformation from rule compliance
to internalizing the values behind the rules), advising (supporting the
team [or whatever] in finding its own way; values have been internalized).
A coach might embody any or all of these styles at any given time, ideally
depending on specific contexts/practices, even within a single team. She
advocates that as a coach, you should allow your style to change depending
on the context and needs of the teams/individuals you're supporting.

She also ties this notion of flexible coaching styles to what she's
identified as 'agile team stages'. She describes these stages as Shu Ha Ri,
a model for mastery she borrows from martial arts:

"Shu: Follow the rule. Ha: Break the rule. Ri: Be the rule. These stages
also describe agile teams as they first practice and then get good at
agile" (pp 60).

What I love is that she acknowledges a team can exist in any or all three
stages at any given time, depending on the specific context or practice:

"Perhaps [the team] inhabits Hs for their stand-up mastery while they learn
the rules of release planning Shu. Perhaps, overall, their skill level pegs
them at Ha, yet some practices advance the state of the art and, thus, are
worthy of Ri." (pp 62).

And that there is value in each of the different coaching
styles/approaches. Ultimately, she suggests that "as the team travels their
own paths through Shu Ha Ri, remember these stages apply to you [as a
coach], too" (pp 63).

Personally, I've found this way of thinking useful and effective. It's
helped me see that my own approach to supporting teams doesn't need to be
static, and that indeed, teams/individuals many benefit more from different
styles at different times.

On Thu, May 7, 2015 at 8:13 AM, Kevin Smith <ksmith at wikimedia.org> wrote:

> During the recent Agile Coaching meetup I attended, an interesting issue
> came up: There are (at least) two very different popular definitions of the
> word "coach".
>
> When I hear the word coach, I immediately think of sports coaches. These
> are people with expertise, who are teachers and motivators, but whose
> greatest gift is often the ability to put people in positions to achieve
> greatness on their own.
>
> Another attendee, however, immediately thinks of the word coach as it is
> used in the fields of Life Coach, Professional Coach, etc. At least from
> this person's perspective, that style of coaching is very much to be a
> neutral facilitator, and not to give specific advice based on expertise.
> The coach's expertise is used to guide the facilitation, but not to propose
> possible solutions.
>
> As Agile Coaches, I think our role falls in between those extremes. We
> bring expertise to the table, and it is valuable to share that with our
> teams and the people we work with. Suggesting improvements and proposing
> solutions are part of the job, as I see it. However, it is also important
> to allow teams to be (or become) self-organizing, and we should not force
> them to do things they are strongly resisting (unlike a sporting coach, who
> often uses the power of authority to push people to or beyond discomfort).
>
> The other person at the meeting was clearly closer to the neutral side of
> the spectrum than me. It was an interesting moment where a common word was
> interpreted fairly differently by two people who both have it in their job
> title.
>
>
> Kevin Smith
> Agile Coach
> Wikimedia Foundation
>
>
>
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> sum of all knowledge. That's our commitment. Help us make it a reality.*
>
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-- 
Arthur Richards
Team Practices Manager
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