In recent years almost all companies have jumped on the agile bandwagon. Some big and fast, others cautious and slow. Every company has hired Scrum Masters or Agile Coaches themselves or has commissioned external service providers to fill these roles. The demand for Scrum Masters or Agile Coaches was and is high. A very demanding and responsible job. But where and how do you actually find good Scrum Master / Agile Coaches?

Um zertifizierter Scrum Master zu sein, braucht man kein langes Studium. Eine 2-Tagesschulung und ein Online-Test und schon hat man den Titel. Den Titel Agile Coach bekommt man von ganz allein, denn viele Unternehmen wollen ihr eigenes Scrum und nennen ihre Scrum Master dementsprechend dann Agile Coaches. Mir persönlich gefällt auch der Begriff Agile Master ganz besonders.

To be a certified Scrum Master, you don’t need to study. A 2-day training and an online test and you have the title. Or you get the title Agile Coach, because many companies want their own Scrum Project Management and simply call their Scrum Masters Agile Coaches. Personally I like the term Agile Master very much.

It is crazy how many people in Europe have taken on the role of a Scrum Master / Agile Coach in the last years.

In the last 5 years I have got to know many incredibly nice and smart colleagues. Many of them can indeed organize meetings, moderate and push tickets back and forth on a board. Of course, I can’t miss out on fun games in workshops, as well as painting especially beautiful and creative posters.

Is this also your image of modern Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches or shouldn’t there be much more?

What often makes me so sad is that many neglect the important core functions.

  • When and why do you actually choose an agile approach?
  • Does agility fit with traditional project management?
  • Which agile principles and values do you need and live by to be successful?
  • How do you optimize processes?
  • How do you develop a motivated team from individual people?
  • How do you increase productivity?
  • How do you actually coach?

Of course you don’t learn all of this in a 2-day crash course, but this is what makes the difference between a good one and a professional Scrum Master or Agile Coach.

Scrum Master and Agile Coaches from mgm have a clear advantage here, because they already bring along those key qualifications and essential characteristics that are necessary to successfully implement agility.

The most important features of our agile approach

  • Trying, learning and improving
  • Collaboration and communication
  • Orientation on value for the customer
  • Highest flexibility and transparency
  • Support and challenge the team

What do Agile Coaches have to achieve?
One of the standard requirements in Agile Coaching is a thorough methodical training. This includes a profound knowledge of visualization and presentation techniques as well as process analysis and optimization methods. The Agile Coach understands how to design and moderate meetings in a varied and efficient manner, treating all participants equally. Through active listening, professional techniques of leading conversations and a direct approach to problems he is a perfect mediator for discussions between team, product owner and stakeholders. mgm-Coaches always represent the interests of the team and thus generate a plus in development time.

The perfect Agile Coach…
… does not establish agile elements in the company purely according to the textbook, but adapts them dynamically to the team and customers. He makes sure that the team develops further and that single individuals become a conspired community with high potential. As an experienced coach, he asks clients or stakeholders immediately in case of any uncertainties. He looks closely and reacts to discrepancies, addresses them proactively and tries to solve them together in the group. We at mgm do not only want to do valuable agile work, but also support and advise the client in the area of “agility”. We like to be measured by the continuous improvement of productivity and satisfaction within the team.

Contact us!
You want to learn more about Agile Management and Scrum? We at mgm would be happy to inform you by phone or personally about the various possibilities of using agile methods and the advantages of working with us. You can reach us on weekdays by phone, e-mail or via our online form. We will be happy to provide you with a non-binding offer. Do you have any questions or would you like to arrange a free initial consultation? Just give us a call, we look forward to hearing from you!

 

Bildquelle: Fotolia / karashaev