Do Agile coaches work with individuals or teams?

They work with both although an Agile coach works to optimise for the whole environment rather than at the individual level. John McFadyen explains.

John McFadyen

5 months ago | 3 min read

They work with both.

Agile coaches play an integral in helping to build great teams. They do so by working with individuals within the team independently and by working with the team as a cohesive unit.

Scrum is built on the foundation of doing twice the work in half the time. It is also built on Agile values and principles such as building or creating products that truly delight customers so it’s about quality as well as speed.

In order to achieve both quality and velocity, you need to operate as a creative and collaborative team. A team will always outperform an individual and that’s why it’s critical for coaches to help cultivate strong teams within a production environment.

Agile coaches work with all members of the team, from the development team members through to Scrum Masters and Product Owners.

An Agile coach would be working with junior scrum masters to become more effective in their role as well as develop their coaching skills in order to better serve the scrum team.

A product owner may need help developing a strong product vision and articulating that vision to both the scrum master and the development team. An Agile coach can play a significant role in helping product owners become more effective in their role.

When it comes to leadership, leaders often work independently of one another and focus on their own silos and teams.

A great Agile coach will work to develop a leadership team environment where independent leaders start to work together in pursuit of shared goals and objectives. They would also work with leaders to create a unifying vision, mission and purpose that aligns and binds the leadership team together.

Again, this is achieved by working with individuals as well as with the team.

The career journey of an Agile coach includes a lot of work at the team level.

As they progress from Scrum Master to Advanced Scrum Master, they will be working with both individuals and teams throughout the organisation. They will naturally develop their team building skills and coaching skills throughout the process.

By the time they reach Agile coach level, they will have experience working with multiple teams in multiple applications. They will have deep experience at coaching both individuals and teams and will have experienced the benefits of a strong, creative, and collaborative team environment.

A great Agile coach can work with independent leaders to bring about organizational change that serves both individuals and teams throughout the organisation.

They can also work at the team level to help achieve and exceed organisational goals and objectives.

It’s a dynamic role that evolves through continuous improvement with each step in the Agile coaches journey. Simply put, an Agile coach becomes better at working with both individuals and teams with each interaction and engagement they have.

If you are interested in becoming an Agile Coach, visit our Advanced Certified Scrum Master course page as well as the Certified Scrum Professional Scrum Master and Agile Coaching Academy pages.

There is also a great course by IC Agile that focuses on Certified Agile Team Coaching that is worth checking out.

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John McFadyen