Philosophy

Every coaching engagement is different. Your goals are different, your culture is different, your work is different and the way you want to roll out a transformational change will be different. My coaching approach is informed by my experience and is based on:

• Your Unique Context: I know your situation is unique. Your transformation is not about force fitting a preconceived Lean-Agile approach. All the Lean-Agile toolbox, be it Scrum, XP, Lean, Kanban, SAFe, Crystal or whatever, needs to be considered and applied to your situation. Your transformation is about developing a pragmatic approach to improving your business effectiveness; one size does not fit all.
• Predictable Results: I understand that you need something more concrete than “trust me” as you roll out transformational changes. I have the experience to understand the pros and cons of many approaches. The good news is that there are patterns that work over and over again and that we can apply to your context; we can establish predictable outcomes as a result.
• Short Term Wins: I know that you need short term wins with immediate business impact so you can build support for the transformation. I will work with you to establish what we will measure to show business results, and how we will set things up to achieve those business outcomes.
• Explain the “Why”: My experience tells me that transformations stall and ultimately fail if the practices and roles are blindly followed, whithout your understanding of “why” we are using this practice or role. The best approach to lasting improvement is to build a healthy mindset where people are constantly seeking to improve their products and the way they work. My job is to help you understand the “why” behind Lean-Agile thinking, to build the right mindset, so you can apply this thinking yourself.
  • This understanding leads to an additional benefit; you become independant of me, the Agile Coach.
• Multi-level Organizational Change: The transformation impacts all facets and levels of your organization, not just the individuals delivering the value. In order to truly transform your organization, we need to work with your people (both in terms of their capabilities and their attitudes), your organizational structure, and your tooling at every level in the organization.
• Lead the Change: I understand that effective change has to be led, not just managed or supported. My job is to provide you with the tools to lead the transformation so you can lead-by-example.
• Anticipate Problems: I do not expect everything to go smoothly during the transformation. Conflict is a natural part of the process of change. It is also the mark of real change taking hold. Some of this can be anticipated; some cannot. In both cases you need someone who has been there, seen it, and has the experience to successfully work through issues.