What is agile coaching?

What does an agile coach do?

An agile coach teaches, inspires, and leads individuals, teams, and organizations as they transform the way they work.

Oftentimes, agile coaches will:

• Lead individuals, teams, and organizations to design and execute their own plan for expanding agile while providing insights based on their experience with agile
• Provide training in a specific agile framework or in flexible agile practices
• Provide agile leadership coaching to executives, managers, scrum masters, and team leads
• Instill a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration
• Collaborate with leadership to create a roadmap for sustaining agility as the organization evolves

They play a crucial role in helping teams and leaders understand agile values and principles, apply them effectively, and evolve their practices over time to respond better to changing requirements and market conditions.

How agile coaching benefits certain organizations

Agile coaching is essential for organizations seeking to navigate the rapid pace of:

• Technological advancements
• Shifting consumer expectations 
• Market volatility 
• The need for constant innovation 

These conditions require businesses to be highly adaptable, responsive, and able to pivot on a moment's notice. An agile coach supports people as they adopt not only practices but also a way of thinking that makes it possible to deliver better products and services in less time while adapting to changes and acting on rapid feedback.

Understanding the role of an agile coach

As organizations strive to become more adaptive and responsive to context changes, the demand for people with agile coaching skills is on the rise. An agile coach is a change agent who provides training, mentorship, and guidance. As an agile coach, your days will look unique to your context, but there are some common responsibilities.

Agile coach responsibilities

Facilitates agile adoption and transformation 

Agile coaches play a pivotal role in guiding organizations through the complexities of adopting agile ways of working and thinking. They help organizations reinterpret their traditional practices within the agile framework or practices, making the transformation impactful and aligned with their organizational goals.

Enhances team collaboration, self-management, and effectiveness

Through coaching, teams learn to adopt agile practices, which may lead to improved collaboration and, ultimately, to innovative products and services. Agile coaches help teams to become self-managed, enabling faster decision-making and reducing time to market for the products and services they deliver.

Promotes a culture of continuous improvement

Agile coaching instills a mindset of continuous learning and adaptation. Coaches encourage teams to reflect on their interactions and processes, identify areas for improvement, and implement changes iteratively. This culture of continuous improvement can lead to better products, more effective organizational structures, and happier, empowered employees.

Improves communication and collaboration

Agile coaches work to break down silos within organizations, fostering a culture of open communication and collaboration over top-down protocols and inflexible plans. Coaches may support efforts to positively influence team dynamics with the objective of getting all team members to align and work effectively together towards common goals.

Navigates organizational change

Agile coaches are instrumental in managing change within organizations. They help teams and stakeholders understand and embrace agile ways of thinking and approaching work. Coaches often encounter resistance to change, as well as hesitancy and fear about new ways of working. They must be exceptional communicators and empaths to patiently navigate resistance they may encounter at any level, including among leaders who can't yet see the benefits of a transformation.

Develops agile leadership

Beyond coaching teams, agile coaches play a crucial role in developing agile leadership within the organization. They mentor leaders and managers, helping them to adopt agile principles in their leadership style, which is essential for sustaining agile transformation at all levels of the organization.

Becoming an agile coach requires a combination of education or training and practical experience with a focus on leading teams and organizations through agile transformations. 

The journey to becoming an agile coach typically starts with gaining foundational knowledge of agile principles, values, and practices. This involves training for and working in roles that contribute to or directly involve agile practices, such as a scrum master, product owner, or member of an agile team. From there, aspiring coaches often seek to deepen their understanding and skills through mentorship, advanced certifications, and practical coaching experience.

By following this pathway—gaining the necessary experience, mentoring, training, and continuously improving your skills—you can distinguish yourself as a skilled agile coach capable of leading impactful agile transformations.

The 2022 State of Agile Coaching Report shows that agile coaching remains a growing field and that the demand for qualified coaches continues to increase. The demand for agile coaches is projected to grow by an estimated 9% from 2018 to 2028, according to Zippia. This growth is indicative of the increasing adoption of agile methodologies across various industries and the recognition of the value agile coaches bring to organizational efficiency and adaptability.

Agile coach salary insights

Of the 2,130 agile coaches from 82 countries who responded to the State of Agile Coaching Survey 2022, the majority reported earning between $50,000 USD and $200,000 USD per year. Those with more than four years of experience were more likely to earn 120K+ USD.

98% of respondents reported holding one or more agile certifications, and of the certifications held by respondents, the majority (48%) were issued by Scrum Alliance.

Stand apart with an agile coaching certification

After gaining a few years of experience in agile coaching, pairing your practical knowledge with Scrum Alliance's coaching certifications can significantly enhance your standing as an expert coach. As the largest nonprofit certification body in the agile space, Scrum Alliance provides a journey toward the most reputable certifications that professionalize agile coaching:

• Certified Team Coach (CTC)
• Certified Enterprise Coach (CEC)

These certifications distinguish you as an expert agile coach by validating your experience and expertise in fostering agile methodologies within teams and organizations.

A CTC focuses on coaching multiple scrum teams, stakeholders, and management to improve performance and outcomes. A CEC guides organizations through agile transformations at the enterprise level. 

Both certifications entail a rigorous application process that assesses the applicant's experience, knowledge, and skills in agile coaching, along with recommendations from clients and mentors.