We often ask ourselves the question: What about a “team” of agile coaches in a company? Are they a team? Are they not? What are they then? Or what not? The lecture takes up some theories, compares them with experienced practice from the daily life of an agile coaching team and after this classification swings to the question: does such a team need leadership? Which leadership? Which not? And how can this be applied to other organisational “formats”? Specialist teams?

1. Does a team of Agile Coaches
need leadership or not?
… and is it even a „team“?
Michael RUMPLER
IT Management & Governance
People & Organisation
Hannes KIEBERGER
Founder &
Managing Partner

2. Contextualizing & Localization Leadership & Enablement

3. The most challenging Agile team I have
worked with are
Jem Jelly
Or Managers.
not Developers.
But a team of Agile Coaches.

4. 4
Is a team of Agile Coaches…
… a Team?
… a Community of Practice?
… something completely different?

5. 5
„A community of practice (CoP) is a group
of people who share a concern or a passion
for something they do and learn how to do
it better as they interact regularly.”
Wikipedia

6. • Design for evolution
• Open a dialogue between inside and outside perspectives
• Invite different levels of participation
• Develop both public and private community spaces
• Focus on value
• Combine familiarity and excitement
• Create a rhythm for the community
from „Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge“
6
Community of Practice?
INNOVATION
CoPs drive
Innovation.
Knowledge
Building
Solving everyday
problems together
Common
Standards

7. 7
„A TEAM is a group of individuals
(human or non-human) working
together to achieve their goal.”
Wikipedia

8. Agile Teams are
• Empowered
• Self-Organized
• Interdisciplinary
• Reasonably small
8
TEAM?
SMALL
5-9 people
all competences
for end2end
delivery
Eliminate
problems
independently
REWE IT:
75
Product-Teams
Little to no
dependence on
other teams

9. A change team designs and monitors
communication platforms, workshops, projects,
knowledge transfer and information. It networks
them wisely, puts them in order, and checks
responsibility and effective implementation. It
may and should work across hierarchies and
actually stands "next to the organization chart.
9
CHANGE-TEAM?
Everybody in
the company is
affected
Agility is
company sport,
not team sport
It‘s more than
your own
organizational unit!

10. A group of roles that all contribute to the same
purpose.
10
CIRCLE?
Part of a change
TEAM?
then MAYBE
Circle =
Crossfunctional
Team
Circle has no
distinct hierarchical
leader

11. Somehow…..
a little bit everything

13. Does it make sense to have such a team
centrally anchored or should the coaches
be in the line organization?

14. POSITIVE NEGATIVE
Central Team vs. Line Org
Coaches are not within the sphere of influence of
line managers (power of hierarchy cannot be used)
Common standards can be defined
and implemented more easily
Coaches are like a consulting unit in the
organization
Synergies can be used when activities affect multiple
teams (also helps for networking)
Unbiased outside view
Enabling vs. permanent baby-care
Who pays for it?
Can vs. must
Central budget looks huge compared to smaller
budget in specific areas
The manager of the coach team plays a significant
role in acceptance
The environment for the team is significantly shaped
by the manager's work in the company
Organizational anchoring can be a problem
(How are coaches perceived)

15. POSITIVE NEGATIVE
Central Team vs. Line Org
The experience of all members can be used,
expand the method suitcase as a team
Together you get a better understanding of the
organization, less danger of operational blindness
Work on the level above the teams becomes really
possible (biggest lever)
You can use coaches situationally according to
strengths (As a strongman, new thinking, etc...)
Mental health through common exchange
As "external", coaches have to live with the
consequences of change only to a limited extent
Successes are difficult to measure - often perceived
as less effective (BabyCare vs. self-organization)
The best for the company is not always the best for a
team (internal conflict possible)
There is often a lack in capacity as team size is more
visible than single people in the org-chart
Can become an “ivory tower”

16. What kind of leadership does such
a <what_it_is> need?

17. 17
Be responsible for the „Guardrails“
Create
Environment
Stake out the
pasture
Create
Alignment
Team
Ambassador
Show the
value
Create
Transparency

18. 18
Governance
OKRs
With the Team
Define the
Red Thread
With the Team
Ensure the
Framework
Corporate
Strategy
help shape
Strategy / Direction

19. Leadership

20. 20
We still need…..
Be the coach for the coach team
(meta-coach)
▪ CAVEAT: coaching coaches is
more difficult 😎
▪ Bring people down to earth
(again)
People leadership is still needed
• Growth Potentials
• Personal 1:1 feedback
• …
Mirror feedback from levels that
coaches are blind to
▪ Provide big picture to make
better decisions
Coach the management level (with
coaches from the team)
▪ But: always be the direct contact
for the management level
▪ Hold up a mirror
Challenge and encourage personal
development of coaches
▪ Not everyone is a super-hero yet
(even if they think they are 😉)

21. QUESTIONS?