If you know anything about me, you know that I’m a Rush fan. So, this article plays a bit of a homage to the song—Big Wheel.  RIP Neal Peart.

This is a relatively short post, but an important one. I want to highlight an initiative that’s been going on for a while by Mark Summers and a bunch of other smart folks to define a model or tool for what solid, robust, and professional Agile Coaching skills look like. They call it the Agile Coaching Growth Wheel.

They’ve established a website called http://whatisagilecoaching.org/  Where you can find a description of the Wheel and other supporting information.

What I like about the tool is the depth and breadth of it. For example, the service-oriented aspects. Or the fact that it contains a consultative or advising component that I think is missing from some other models. Let me explore my previous go-to models before highlighting the differentiators in the Wheel.

Models, Frameworks, Advice, Oh my!

I’ve been actively using two models to explain the agile coaching skills ecosystem (stances, skills, capabilities, etc.) to my agile coaching clients.

Agile Coaching Competency Framework

ACCF is one of them. It was created by the Agile Coaching Institute and is sometimes referred to as the X-wing model. It conveys a balanced set of eight competencies for agile coaches.

https://www.agilecoachinginstitute.com/agile-coaching-resources/

In this pair of articles, Jake Calabrese does a great job of explaining his views on the intent of, how to interpret, and how to leverage the framework. 

  1. https://agileforall.com/understanding-acis-agile-coach-competency-framework/

  2. https://agileforall.com/learning-from-acis-agile-coach-competency-framework/

And I did weigh-in on the model here - http://rgalen.com/agile-training-news/2019/4/5/situational-coaching-models

As you can see in my critique, I feel there might be some missing components to the framework. 

The 9 Coaching Roles

Is the other framework or model I often mention. You can get more information about the model here - https://www.barryovereem.com/the-9-coaching-roles/

What I like about it is the expansion into roles such as Counselor, Reflective Observer, and Partner. I particularly like the notion of “partnership”, which is often anathema in other views to agile coaching.

The other thing I find useful in the 9-roles is using it to explain the notion of switching stances in a coaching interaction. Point being, coaching is always situational. While I might enter a coaching arc in coaching stance, I might switch stances to mentoring or modeling before closing back in the coaching stance. It’s this sort of “coaching dance” that I spoke about in this blog post.

Back to the Wheel…

But I wanted to get back to the Growth Wheel. I now consider it my “go-to” model for my personal coaching journey and helping or coaching other coaches.

What are the things I like about it?

  1. It has a built-in notion for experience levels that are assessed and then permeate the wheel’s recommendations for growth and continuous learning focus.

  2. I like that it was “crowdsourced” by groups of coaches at several Scrum Coach Camps. You can see the breadth of experiences in the Wheel.

  3. It includes a focus on “serving and servant leadership”, that I think is missing from other coaching frameworks. Sure, it’s implied. But the Wheel makes it explicit, which I like.

  4. There’s an emphasis in the outer rim of the Wheel for focus points. The broadest is Knowing Yourself. The introspective and self-awareness aspects of this are incredibly important to agile coaches. Again, I like the clarity of the focus.

  5. I greatly respect Mark Summers as a seasoned and well-balanced agile coach. I think his leadership in the Wheel definition efforts increase my confidence in its real-world applicability.

Wrapping Up

This is the problem and vision that Mark and the group defined as their motivation for developing the Wheel—

Problem

Misconceptions exist with clients and coachees, in regards to what Agile Coaching is.

This confusion has resulted in unqualified people presenting themselves as Agile Coaches who may end up hurting clients and coachees, if not themselves and ultimately the profession.

Our Vision

For people who believe they need an Agile Coach, we want to help you understand:

  • What Agile Coaching is

  • Who might make a great Agile Coach

  • How an Agile Coach might interact with you

Anyone can call themselves an Agile Coach, we hope this website will help you decide on an appropriate coach for you.

We strive to continuously work to professionalize the world of Agile Coaching.

Not only have I seen the same problem, but I resonate strongly with their vision. The world of agile coaching is still largely a work-in-progress. With lots of confusion and, unfortunately, lots of folks jumping on the bandwagon.

We needed something that was comprehensive in providing guidance not only around the skillsets of solid agile coaches but guidance on how to grow as a coach. The Wheel hits the mark for both and I’ve shifted to leveraging it as my best / default framework for coaching other coaches.

I’d encourage you to:

  • Study the wheel, assess your skills against it, and create a learning plan;

  • Consider contributing your experiences with the Wheel to Mark and the team;

  • Share the Wheel with your coaching colleagues;

  • Mentor other coaches leveraging the Wheel.

The Big Wheel says—Stay agile my friends,

Bob.

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