Code of Ethical Conduct for Agile Coaching

Craig Smith
Alex Sloley
Shane Hastie
Code of Ethical Conduct
for Agile Coaching

Welcome…
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Welcome...
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Shane Hastie Craig Smith Alex Sloley

“Coaching is… partnering with clients in a
thought-provoking and creative process that
inspires them to maximize their personal and
professional potential.”
International Coach Federation (ICF)
Image:
https://www.quantumworkplace.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Marketing/Website/Blog/Blog%20Images/Employee%20Coaching.

“Agile coaches guide
individuals and teams to get
clear about the change they
desire, identify places
where current reality does
not match desired reality
and then take action to
close the gap… Agile
coaches support, guide,
coach, teach, mentor and
facilitate change
without colluding with
the current reality.”
ICAgile
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https://blog.planview.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/how-to-become-an-agile-coach-cropped-1536x864.jpg

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https://www.hrzone.com/sites/default/files/styles/inline_banner/public/tumsasedgars_0.jpg?itok=fnknnAaZ
“The study of right and
wrong conduct. Alternately:
▪ The decisions, choices, and
actions (behaviors) we
make that reflect and
enact our values.
▪ The study of what we
understand to be good and
right behavior and how
people make those
judgments
▪ A set of standards of conduct
that guide decisions and
actions based on duties
derived from core values”
Ethics & Compliance Initiative

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Why a code?

Image:
©
Talkback
Thames
http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/29700000/-Roy-Jen-roy-and-jen-the-it-crowd-
29704691-640-360.jpg
This started as a bunch of
technical people becoming
”people” people

Image:
https://www.scrum.org/resources/scrum-framework-poster
Agile is
complex!

Report:
https://explore.versionone.com/state-of-agile/versionone-11th-annual-state-of-agile-report-2
We are far from done…

Report:
https://explore.versionone.com/state-of-agile/versionone-11th-annual-state-of-agile-report-2
Our help is needed…

Image:
http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/corporate2/images/width/live/p0/1z/0f/p01z0fv1.jpg/624
Ethical
issues
everywhere…

Image:
https://s3.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20170825&t=2&i=1198561402&r=LYNXNPED7O1D6&w=1280
Ethical
issues
everywhere…

Image:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/02/21/wells-fargo-fake-accounts-settlement/
Ethical
issues
everywhere…

Rule Violations
Lying
Unhealthy Environment
Safety
Discrimination
Stealing
Bullying
How Americans
Experience Work…
80%
Felt constrained to speak up
Image:
https://hbr.org/2020/03/how-common-is-unethical-behavior-in-u-s-organizations

Image:
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/09/21/multimedia/21parenting-superhero/21parenting-superhero-
superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&auto=webp
What did we do?

ICF Code of Ethics
1. Responsibility to clients
2. Responsibility to
practice and
performance
3. Responsibility to
professionalism
4.Responsibility to society

Agile
Coaching
Institure
Coaching
Competency
Framework
Agile Coaching Competencies

An Emerging Role…
Image:
https://www.nationalskillscommission.gov.au/agile-coaches

Code of Ethical
Conduct for
Agile Coaching
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content/uploads/2017/09/Balancing-the-Scales-Data-Driven-and-Customer-Centric-Marketing-1-1030x423.jpg

Protecting confidentiality, intellectual
property and information security
Upholding social responsibility,
diversity and inclusion
Managing differences in
status and power
Acting within my ability
Introspection and continuing
professional development
Navigating conflicts
of interest
Ensuring value
in the relationship
Agreeing on boundaries Responsibility to the profession

I will protect information
shared with me and will
only disclose it for legal
reasons or when I have
clear agreement with my
client and stakeholders.
I will attribute other’s
ideas appropriately and
avoid the appearance that
they are mine.
Protecting confidentiality,
intellectual property and
information security

I will be open and
transparent about my
skills, experience and
qualifications.
I will be clear with my
client and stakeholders if
they make a request
beyond my capabilities.
I will be open with the
client if I believe they need
another form of
professional help.
Acting within my ability

I will engage with a
peer group or mentor
to explore ethical and
other challenges in my
agile coaching work.
I will seek to improve
my self-awareness and
effectiveness through
introspection and
professional
development.
Introspection and continuing
professional development

I will be transparent about
any potential conflicts of
interest with all who might
be affected.
I will consciously avoid
situations where I benefit
myself to the detriment of
the client and stakeholders
so that I may maintain
professional judgment and
objective thinking.
I will resolve conflicts of
interest by working with the
client and stakeholders, seek
assistance when needed and
suspend or end the
relationship if needed.
Navigating conflicts
of interest

I will check with my client
and stakeholders to
ensure the relationship is
valuable and only
extended through mutual
agreement.
I will make it transparent
if my client is forming
dependencies on my
services and will work
towards their own self-
sustaining agility.
I will be open with the
client if I believe the value
in the relationship is
declining.
Ensuring value
in the relationship

I will seek opportunities to
bring different voices to
the conversation.
I will take action to
discourage and eliminate
discrimination in any form.
I will strive to leave
society better than I found
it, by my action or
inaction.
Upholding social responsibility,
diversity and inclusion

I will ensure we have an
agreed upon scope, even
if it evolves.
I will work with the
client to understand
their needs and avoid
imposing solutions
based on my personal
preferences and desires.
I will openly challenge
when my client is
pursuing purposes at
odds with the Agile
Manifesto’s Values and
Principles.
Agreeing on boundaries

I will not use my
positional authority,
power or influence to
achieve personal gain
or undermine the
goals of my client.
I will create
awareness when
power, privilege and
rank are impeding my
client’s goals or my
ability to serve them
effectively.
Managing differences in
status and power

I will invite others who
practice agile coaching to
adopt professional
standards and this code
of ethics.
I will enhance and uplift
the reputation of the
agile coaching profession.
I will encourage healthy
dialogue and reflection
when I encounter
unethical behaviour in
others.
Responsibility to the profession

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Scenarios

Chat Blast!
1. Enter text in chat
2.Don’t hit Enter!
3.We countdown from 3 to 0
4.Hit Enter on 0!
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Agile Coaching Ethics Scenarios
You are asked to help evaluate the agile health of several areas of a
business. Before each interview you establish a level of confidentiality
that you will anonymize results. As the assessment is conducted the
CxO requests a report which includes the results per person. You
provide anonymized data so as to protect the identity of the
individuals being interviewed.
Appropriate or Inappropriate?
https://www.agilealliance.org/resources/initiatives/agile-coaching-ethics/
Why appropriate? The information passed on is what was agreed
upon up-front.

A potential client requires someone with extensive practical
experience in a specific topic. You oversell your theoretical knowledge
as practical experience in order to get the assignment.
Why inappropriate? You have claimed to have abilities that you do
not have.

You have been finding internal peer support sessions valuable.
However a more sensitive challenge has recently highlighted itself.
You decide to take this challenge to your external mentor in order to
check you are remaining ethical and come up with some fresh ideas
on how to approach the situation.
Why appropriate? Internal peer review sessions are valuable due to
the extra organisational context they provide. However sometimes
this can cause a biased view (fishbowl effect) on how to approach the
situation or you might not feel safe to speak about certain topics. An
external mentor can bring some fresh perspectives to
the challenge.

You are contracted by a large consulting firm to provide agile
coaching services for a client. They have informed you that at the end
of the month your contract will be terminated, citing your high cost.
Before your last day, you let the client know that you will be available
as an independent should they want to use your services in the
future. You don’t provide the reason or do any further solicitation.
Why gray? As you are leveraging a relationship that was provided by
the consulting company that hired you, without knowing the context
of how or when the conversation occurred or factors in relation to
your employment status, this makes this a gray area as to whether or
not you are breaching any local laws or employment agreements.

You are facilitating a session with a group that has varied levels of
experience, you knowingly give preference to those with deeper
proficiency by creating more space for their voices and exploration of
the topics they are interested in whilst discarding marginal voices.
Why inappropriate? You are knowingly showing bias towards those
sharing their experience and level of knowledge and excluding other
voices that are you are supposed to be serving.

A coach feels that a scrum master they are working with is more likely
to succeed in a different role as they are low performing. The coach
begins to raise other potential career paths and encourages them to
self select out of the role as they feel it will be too hard to develop
them into a successful scrum master.
Why inappropriate? It’s inappropriate to encourage someone to “self-
select” out of their chosen path. A more appropriate action would be
to potentially help them find a mentor or coach that can be more
successful for them.

We need your feedback!
AgileCoachingEthics@agilealliance.org
What should we do next?

Craig Smith @smithcdau
Alex Sloley @alex_sloley
Shane Hastie @shanehastie
Thank You

Code of Ethical Conduct for Agile Coaching

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