From Project Manager to Agile Coach
It’s a matter of fact that agile project management approaches are getting more and more popular - not only for managing IT projects, but also in other PM application areas such as product development projects.
Lyssa Adkins is a very experienced project manager and PM consultant with over 15 years of experience in a wide variety of industries and teams - large and small. In the following video she talkes about how the role of a project manager should develop towards an agile coach - quite interesting.
I summarized the key points of the video for you. Hope this helps…
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Some rules and key success factors of being an agile coach:
1) Be detached from outcomes: don’t only focus on WHAT the team works on (outputs and outcomes) but also on HOW the team works
2) Take it to the team: let the team solve the project’s issues and problems
3) Be a mirror: reflect back to the team, ask questions
4) Master your face: practice non-violent communication, be relaxed
5) Let there be silence: get comfortable with un-comfortable silence
6) Model being unreasonable: be wild, be big, be bold
7) Let the team fail: teams that fail and recover together are much stronger, trust!
Be your team’s biggest fan: …and tell your team
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What is it to be an Agile Coach?
- Bulldozer: sweep problems and issues out of the way for your team
- Shepherd: get them back on the path
- Servant Leader: serve the team, be a facilitator; “Make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served.“
- Guardian of quality and performance: watch WHAT and HOW your team is producing
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And this is part two of the presentation:


I am honored to be on your blog. Thanks for watching and look for more to come. I am working on a video about the roles in Agile and how they interlock with one another - in the same style as the “Project Manager to Agile Coach” videos.
lyssaadkins
17 Jul 08 at 3:57 Uhr nachmittags
@Lyssa: Thanks for sharing your work and experiences with us!
Stefan Hagen
18 Jul 08 at 2:55 Uhr nachmittags
This is nothing to do with Agile. This is to do with the behaviour of the Project Manager and is equally applicable across any methodolgy/approach.
Gerry Logue
13 Aug 08 at 10:53 Uhr vormittags