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Becoming an Agile Coach

This self-paced course explores each stance in depth, preparing you to guide teams and leaders through agile adoption hurdles, resistance to change, everyday conflicts, and other obstacles on the path to continuous improvement:

Facilitating

Teaching

Mentoring

Advising

Leading

Coaching

You'll gain the confidence to navigate complex roadblocks, ignite continuous improvement, and shape resilient, high-performing teams. If you've ever wanted to lead transformations with skill, empathy, and impact, this is where you begin.

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What's inside

Syllabus

Welcome

Facilitating

Welcome to Becoming an Agile Coach! In this course, we'll explore the multifaceted role of an agile coach and the various stances you'll adopt to empower organizations and drive successful agile adoptions. Our first module focuses on the art of facilitation, a crucial skill for any agile coach. We'll explore the core principles of facilitation and how they empower teams to collaborate, communicate effectively, and make collective decisions. You'll join me, Maeve, as I guide a team at Breezy Apparel through their agile transformation. We'll navigate the challenges and opportunities together, learning how to foster a safe and productive environment where everyone feels empowered to contribute and achieve amazing results. This course was created with Subject Matter Experts, Anu Smalley (CST®, CEC) and Lucy O'Keefe (CST®, CTC).

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Activities

Coming soon We're preparing activities for Becoming an Agile Coach. These are activities you can do either before, during, or after a course.

Career center

Learners who complete Becoming an Agile Coach will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Agile Coach

An Agile Coach is an expert guide who empowers organizations and teams to adopt and thrive using agile principles and practices. This course, "Becoming an Agile Coach," is specifically designed to prepare you for this dynamic and impactful role, exploring the various stances—facilitating, teaching, mentoring, advising, leading, and coaching—that define the profession. You will develop the confidence to navigate complex roadblocks, ignite continuous improvement, and shape resilient, high-performing teams. By focusing on guiding teams and leaders through common challenges like adoption hurdles, resistance to change, and everyday conflicts, this course directly addresses the core responsibilities of an Agile Coach, helping you to lead transformations with skill, empathy, and impact. This deep dive into each crucial stance provides an unrivaled foundation for aspiring coaches to succeed.

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Scrum Master

A Scrum Master serves an agile team by fostering an environment conducive to successful product delivery, often acting as a servant leader, facilitator, and impediment remover. This course offers a significant advantage for anyone aspiring to become a Scrum Master or enhance their capabilities in the role. The "Mentoring" module explicitly discusses taking on the accountability of being a Scrum Master and coaching the organization through agile adoption, directly aligning with this career path. The deep focus on facilitating Scrum events, teaching agile principles, mentoring team members, and advising on best practices provides a robust toolkit. By learning to navigate conflicts and guide the team toward continuous improvement, this course helps build the leadership and interpersonal skills essential for a successful Scrum Master.

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Transformation Lead

As a Transformation Lead, you orchestrate and guide significant organizational changes, often involving new methodologies, technologies, or operational models, to achieve strategic objectives. This course is an excellent starting point for individuals aiming to become a Transformation Lead, as it hones crucial skills for navigating large-scale shifts. The curriculum's emphasis on guiding teams and leaders through agile adoption hurdles and resistance to change is directly applicable. Learning to leverage different stances—such as facilitating, advising, and especially leading—equips you to help others craft a shared vision and foster an environment of continuous learning. Your ability to model agile principles and values, as explored in the course, will be pivotal in driving successful and sustainable organizational transformation.

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Release Train Engineer

A Release Train Engineer is a servant leader and facilitator who guides a large Agile Release Train in a scaled agile framework, ensuring effective collaboration and delivery across multiple teams. This course can substantially enhance your readiness for a Release Train Engineer role, as it focuses on many essential competencies. The strong emphasis on facilitating, leading, and advising stances is critical for orchestrating complex inter-team dependencies and resolving impediments at scale. Guiding leaders through agile adoption hurdles, navigating conflicts, and fostering continuous improvement, as practiced in this course, are daily realities for an RTE. By developing skills to lead by example and inspire a shared vision, you will be well-prepared to empower a large train to achieve its collective goals efficiently.

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Team Facilitator

A Team Facilitator is instrumental in guiding groups through effective meetings, workshops, and collaborative sessions, ensuring clear communication, productive decision-making, and collective progress. The course "Becoming an Agile Coach" offers invaluable preparation for a Team Facilitator, with an entire module dedicated to the art of facilitation. You will explore core principles to empower teams to collaborate, communicate effectively, and make collective decisions, which are the fundamental duties of a facilitator. Learning to foster a safe and productive environment where everyone feels empowered to contribute, as detailed in the course, is directly transferable. This specialized training in guiding group dynamics makes this course particularly beneficial for those seeking to excel in facilitating team interactions and outcomes.

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Organizational Change Manager

An Organizational Change Manager plans and implements strategies to successfully transition individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state. This course provides highly relevant skills for an Organizational Change Manager, specifically addressing "resistance to change" and "agile adoption hurdles" within its description. The focus on guiding teams and leaders through obstacles, coupled with the "advising" and "leading" stances, equips you to manage the human side of change effectively. Learning to use emotional and social intelligence to become a trusted advisor, as explored in the course, is crucial for gaining buy-in and navigating the complexities of organizational shifts. This course helps develop the leadership and empathetic skills necessary to drive successful change initiatives.

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Process Improvement Specialist

A Process Improvement Specialist analyzes existing workflows and implements strategies to enhance efficiency, quality, and effectiveness within an organization. This course offers robust preparation for a Process Improvement Specialist, as it is centered on helping teams "ignite continuous improvement" and navigate "obstacles on the path to continuous improvement." The various stances—facilitating discussions, teaching new methods, mentoring implementation, advising on best practices, and leading improvement initiatives—are all directly applicable. You will gain confidence in diagnosing challenges and guiding teams to achieve greater effectiveness. This course helps cultivate a mindset focused on identifying areas for enhancement and empowering teams to adopt more streamlined and productive operational processes.

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Leadership Consultant

A Leadership Consultant advises organizations and their leaders on developing effective leadership strategies, fostering talent, and driving cultural transformation. This course may be highly helpful for an aspiring Leadership Consultant, as it emphasizes "guiding leaders" and developing the skills to "lead transformations with skill, empathy, and impact." The "Leading" module specifically focuses on crafting a shared vision, leading by example, and fostering an environment of continuous learning, all integral to leadership development. The advising and coaching stances, coupled with the focus on emotional and social intelligence, enhance your ability to become a trusted advisor to senior management. This course provides a strong foundation in influencing and empowering leadership within diverse organizational contexts.

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Learning and Development Specialist

A Learning and Development Specialist designs and delivers programs that enhance employee skills, knowledge, and overall organizational capabilities, fostering continuous professional growth. This course may be particularly helpful for a Learning and Development Specialist, given its strong emphasis on "teaching" and "mentoring" as core stances. The "Teaching" module explores how to guide teams and impart knowledge effectively, while the "Mentoring" module delves into impactful characteristics of a mentor and building successful mentoring relationships. Furthermore, the course's focus on fostering an environment of continuous learning directly aligns with the objectives of an L&D role. These skills are crucial for designing and implementing effective educational and growth pathways for individuals and teams.

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Management Consultant

A Management Consultant analyzes organizational challenges, develops strategic solutions, and guides clients through implementation to improve performance and efficiency. This course may be quite helpful for a Management Consultant, as it cultivates essential skills in advising, leading, and facilitating organizational change. The ability to shift between various stances—such as advising leaders through challenging moments, facilitating problem-solving, and leading by example—is vital for addressing diverse client needs. Developing emotional and social intelligence to become a trusted advisor, as highlighted in the course, is key to building client relationships and influencing outcomes. While not specific to a particular industry, the course's focus on navigating complex roadblocks and driving continuous improvement provides a versatile toolkit for consulting.

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Internal Consultant

An Internal Consultant leverages expertise to advise and support departments or teams within their own organization, driving improvements and helping navigate internal challenges. This course may be helpful for an Internal Consultant, as it directly addresses the skills needed to influence change and solve problems from within. The core stances of advising, facilitating, mentoring, and coaching are precisely what an internal consultant employs daily to guide colleagues through obstacles and improve effectiveness. Learning to foster collaboration, navigate conflicts, and build trust, as emphasized in the course, is crucial for internal advisory roles. This course supports developing the interpersonal and problem-solving skills necessary to be an empathetic and impactful internal resource.

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Professional Coach

A Professional Coach partners with individuals and teams to unlock their potential, clarify goals, and achieve significant personal and professional growth through structured conversations and support. This course may prove helpful for a Professional Coach, especially with its dedicated module on "Coaching." You will learn to define coaching and its potential impact, cultivate a coaching mindset, and identify essential skills used in coaching conversations. The focus on navigating conflicts, fostering collaboration, and empowering both individuals and groups to achieve their full potential is directly aligned with the work of a Professional Coach. This course provides a strong foundation in the art and science of guiding others towards their desired outcomes.

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Project Manager

A Project Manager plans, executes, and oversees projects from inception to completion, ensuring they meet objectives within scope, time, and budget constraints. This course may be helpful for a Project Manager, particularly those working in agile or hybrid environments. The skills gained in facilitating team collaboration, leading through change, and mentoring team members are highly applicable to managing project teams effectively. Navigating conflicts, resolving obstacles, and driving continuous improvement, as practiced in the course, are common challenges for project managers. While the course isn't about traditional project planning, its emphasis on empowering teams and fostering proactive problem-solving can significantly enhance a Project Manager's leadership and interpersonal capabilities.

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Product Manager

A Product Manager defines the vision, strategy, and roadmap for a product, guiding it through its lifecycle and ensuring it meets market needs and business goals. This course may be helpful for a Product Manager, especially in agile product development settings. The ability to facilitate discussions, advise stakeholders, lead product discovery, and coach development teams is vital for success. Guiding teams through challenges, fostering collaboration, and building a shared vision for the product, as explored in the course, are essential aspects of the role. While the course does not focus on product strategy itself, it helps a Product Manager develop crucial leadership and communication skills to empower teams and effectively navigate the complexities of product creation.

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People and Culture Manager

A People and Culture Manager develops and implements strategies that foster a positive work environment, enhance employee engagement, and cultivate a strong organizational culture. This course may be helpful for a People and Culture Manager, as it hones skills in fostering collaboration, navigating conflicts, and building resilient teams. The "Mentoring" and "Coaching" modules are particularly relevant, teaching how to empower individuals and groups and cultivate a supportive mindset. Furthermore, the course's emphasis on leading by example and fostering an environment of continuous learning directly aligns with shaping a vibrant and progressive workplace culture. These interpersonal and leadership skills are invaluable for creating an organizational environment where individuals and teams can thrive.

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Reading list

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The Agile Pocket Guide