This week we re-read Chapter 3 of Extraordinarily Badass Agile Coaching: The Journey from Beginner to Mastery and Beyond. Chapter 3 discusses agile coaching frameworks. As someone that has struggled with always applying a purely professional coaching stance (I also collaborate, practice show and tell, and nudging) the idea of a single stance coach is anathema. All of the agile coaching models discussed in the chapter are multivariate and much closer to the guide role Allan Kelly, Woody Zuill, and I discussed in SPaMCAST 612. All of the models focus on helping people deliver value in a way that supports people and organizations.
One big takeaway in this chapter for me is the idea of a coaching arc. Simply put, all coaching events (and by extension engagements) follow a path in which different stances are needed to attain the desired outcome. I game-plan most of the deliberate scenarios I put myself in. The act of planning then allows me to inspect and adapt based on context faster. The coaching arc is similar. Bob suggests the approach is a useful technique for centering before engaging in a coaching experience. I find it makes it easier to pivot which may be a reflection of being more centered and present.
One of my pastimes is fitting current events into models I use professionally. It helps me practice game planning using “what-if” scenarios. As I read and re-read Chapter 3 I have had the great misfortune of being able to watch the poop show that Twitter has become and try to fit what I see happening to different change models. None of the agile coaching models describe the quickly evolving train wreck of a transformation we see occurring at Twitter at the end of 2022. Early in my career, I was able to observe a man who rescued several clothing lines from bankruptcy. His approach was highly disruptive and almost barbaric – very Ross Perot-ish. I watched as he made people move their desks from one end of the office to the other by hand multiple times a week (everyone had to move their own desks regardless of infirmity). His goal was to teach everyone that change was constant, painful, and personal. It was his coaching/change model. I was glad I was in another less crazy area of the business! Reflecting back now, it is apparent that he had fallen in love with the model since it worked once it could be made to work again, even through force of will alone. None of those clothing lines still exist and neither does the parent company. All models must be adaptable to context or risk being the square peg trying to fit into a round hole.
The chapter provides a quick overview of several agile coaching models. All of the models have differences and there are a few common threads. I suggest not falling in love with any of the models, but rather embracing them all (at least until we get to Bob’s model later in the book). George E. P. Box stated, “All models are wrong, but some are useful”. Find the useful bits and use them to reflect, learn, and grow. Doing that will make you a better coach.
Buy a copy of Extraordinarily Badass Agile Coaching: The Journey from Beginner to Mastery and Beyond (Amazon Associate Link) and read along!
Previous Weeks:
Week 1: Logistics and Forewords – https://bit.ly/3zoAYlx
Week 2: Introduction to Badassery in Agile Coaching – https://bit.ly/3hcEPMs
Week 3: The Mindset of the Badass Agile Coach – http://bit.ly/3Eu0qJu
