The Agile Coach Role: Coaching for Agile Performance Impact

Abstract

It is increasingly common to introduce agile coaches to help gain speed and advantage in agile companies. Following the success of Spotify, the role of the agile coach has branched out in terms of tasks and responsibilities, but little research has been conducted to examine how this role is practiced. This paper examines the role of the agile coach through 19 semistructured interviews with agile coaches from ten different companies. We describe the role in terms of the tasks the coach has in agile projects, valuable traits, skills, tools, and the enablers of agile coaching. Our findings indicate that agile coaches perform at the team and organizational levels. They affect effort, strategies, knowledge, and skills of the agile teams. The most essential traits of an agile coach are being emphatic, people-oriented, able to listen, diplomatic, and persistent. We suggest empirically based advice for agile coaching, for example companies giving their agile coaches the authority to implement the required organizational changes within and outside the teams.

Toward an Agile Product Management: What Do Product Managers Do in Agile Companies?

“…We were surprised to find out that all PMs were so attentive to their teams given that earlier literature on product management argues that a PM should not have responsibilities toward teams [7,20]. In contrast to this, PMs in our study reminded us of Scrum Masters or agile coaches [24] in that they took responsibility for the team goals, climate, and process structure.…”

Abordagens Do Uso Do Humor Em Treinamentos E Competições De Boxe: Uma Perspectiva Psi̇cológi̇ca

“…25 Ressalta-se que a participação do humor em diferentes formas e medidas no treinamento ou na competição deve proporcionar um ambiente de equipe relaxante e seguro, que afete positivamente a comunicação entre atletas e treinadores. 26,27 É possível afirmar que quando as abordagens de humor no ambiente esportivo são realizadas no momento certo, com o estilo de humor adequado e dentro dos limites do respeito, as habilidades de comunicação são fortalecidas e o senso de união é ampliado.…”

Approaches to Boxi̇ng Trai̇ni̇ng and Competi̇ti̇on Usi̇ng Humor: A Psychological Perspective

“…25 It is emphasized that humor participation in different forms and measures in the training or competition environment should provide a relaxing and safe team environment that will positively affect the communication between both athletes and coaches. 26,27 It is possible to say that when boxers' approaches to humor in the sports environment are carried out at the right time, with the right humor style and within the limits of respect, their communication skills are strengthened and their sense of togetherness is positively affected.…”