Agile Coach Camp Raleigh, North Carolina
March 19-21
Title of Discussion Topic: Coaching-Client Engagement Models
Name of Discussion Leader/Facilitator: Ellen Gottesdiener
Names of Discussion Participants:
Bruce Eckfeldt
Susan Davis
Linda Cook
Dan Puckett
Declan Whelan
Ellen Grove
Saleem Siddiqui
Michael Sahota
Denise Karbarz
Kathy Gettelfinger
Eric Horlbeck
Dennis Britton
Jose Solera
We ran this session as mini-facilitated workshop beginning with an image of great coaching engagement….after painting the image, focus question was asked:
“What did you do to begin, engage, and close with that client?â€
(note: this applies to folks coming in as external coaches or coaching internally).
Mini-posters on the wall to jog our responses to the focus question:
Seeking: techniques, tools, mechanisms, tricks, tips, etc.
Examples could include: goals/objectives, workshops, acceptance criteria, retros, metrics, etc.
Smart Starts – Don’t Get “pickled†(ref: Jerry Weinberg’s Secrets of Consulting
Findings:
ENTERING: (note: these are unordered or prioritized; affinity groups are clustered together with line breaks in between))
Retro of last 3-6 months of work
Discuss/clarify expectations
What’s bugging you? What business value do you want to enhance? (e.g. quality, TTM…)
Chat with hiring manager of start of every da, sometimes multiple times per day – just 5 – 15 minutes
Build social relationships across org structure
Co-opted the business product owner as an ally in agile adaption
Put expectaons in contract
During the interview for a team member position, I up-sold the CTO into engaging me as a coach or manager; this happened 3 times
Listen
Spent the earliest days absorbing context and getting to know team members
Work in the customers process for a week
One-on-one meetings with developers
Obtained multiple perspectives of the need
Understand organizational/politics (etiology: poly=many; ticks = blood sucking animal)
One-on-one with executive in charge
Try some experiments
Understand current status WRT methods and tools
Planning game for the engagement
Make the engagement interactive
Discuss and agree on best fit for services
Socialize transition/end
Agree on initial goals and milestones
Listed 3 goals for the engagement
Green M+M’s (van halen) – metaphor for seeing what we need to assure it’s a fit or not, e.g. when the PO does no show up
Readiness Assessment: (ref Industrial Xp has a few pages, ref: III on chartering).
Ask ?s to find out stuff including:
• co-location
• physical space
• management support
• handicaps
• etc.
How do readiness assessment: one on one interviews, happy hours, self-assessment tool,
summarize findings and recommendations. This includes costs and builds credibility
Ensuring visible support from management – space to try new things
Pairing
Value stream mapping to assess current state
Review/existing project artifacts prior to setting goals in a chartering workshop (artifacts include backlog, burndowns, metrics, etc.)
Identify resistance
Observed the team several times
ENGAGING/SUSTAINING: (note: these are unordered or prioritized; affinity groups are clustered together with line breaks in between))
Get feedback about transition
Feedback one-on-ones individual coaching
Track runnable tested features (RTF)
Retrospectives (non-boring)
Find internal coaches/allies
Check in-in on progress and adapt to needs
Model behavior
Pair with people
Share materials from others that share your belifs, practies
Bill every two weeks
Tailor (made)
Conduct workshops ton specific topics that build on overall objectives of the engagement
Monitor performance and adjust
Observe what going well/badly
Some amount of C level “training†to build a common language and adopt their language
Team workshops to learn about agile and discuss context of upcoming works (team and org)
Teach principles until they can apply them
Peer discussion to get help
Was able to design the teams’ space in ways that kick-started process and visibility
Was able to line in experienced agilists to provide critical mass of agile knowledge
EXITING
Ensure knowledge transfer takes palce
Wean the team (move them from “taking direction†to self-dirctions)
Check management alignment (sustainable?)
Linked-In testimonials
Keep in touch with good people after departure
Celebrate success
State of the union…metrics
Shadow period (before walking away)..
Setting up ongoing support system/check-in
Ask if you recommend what could you have done for stronger referene 9Ilya Preuss)
Reference and press release
PUZZLE
Boundary between entering and engaging
FACTORS FOR ADAPTING YOUR ENGAGEMENT MODEL:
It depends
Colleague shadow
Co-coach therapy
The light bulb joke
March 19-21
Title of Discussion Topic: Coaching-Client Engagement Models
Name of Discussion Leader/Facilitator: Ellen Gottesdiener
Names of Discussion Participants:
Bruce Eckfeldt
Susan Davis
Linda Cook
Dan Puckett
Declan Whelan
Ellen Grove
Saleem Siddiqui
Michael Sahota
Denise Karbarz
Kathy Gettelfinger
Eric Horlbeck
Dennis Britton
Jose Solera
We ran this session as mini-facilitated workshop beginning with an image of great coaching engagement….after painting the image, focus question was asked:
“What did you do to begin, engage, and close with that client?â€
(note: this applies to folks coming in as external coaches or coaching internally).
Mini-posters on the wall to jog our responses to the focus question:
Seeking: techniques, tools, mechanisms, tricks, tips, etc.
Examples could include: goals/objectives, workshops, acceptance criteria, retros, metrics, etc.
Smart Starts – Don’t Get “pickled†(ref: Jerry Weinberg’s Secrets of Consulting
Findings:
ENTERING: (note: these are unordered or prioritized; affinity groups are clustered together with line breaks in between))
Retro of last 3-6 months of work
Discuss/clarify expectations
What’s bugging you? What business value do you want to enhance? (e.g. quality, TTM…)
Chat with hiring manager of start of every da, sometimes multiple times per day – just 5 – 15 minutes
Build social relationships across org structure
Co-opted the business product owner as an ally in agile adaption
Put expectaons in contract
During the interview for a team member position, I up-sold the CTO into engaging me as a coach or manager; this happened 3 times
Listen
Spent the earliest days absorbing context and getting to know team members
Work in the customers process for a week
One-on-one meetings with developers
Obtained multiple perspectives of the need
Understand organizational/politics (etiology: poly=many; ticks = blood sucking animal)
One-on-one with executive in charge
Try some experiments
Understand current status WRT methods and tools
Planning game for the engagement
Make the engagement interactive
Discuss and agree on best fit for services
Socialize transition/end
Agree on initial goals and milestones
Listed 3 goals for the engagement
Green M+M’s (van halen) – metaphor for seeing what we need to assure it’s a fit or not, e.g. when the PO does no show up
Readiness Assessment: (ref Industrial Xp has a few pages, ref: III on chartering).
Ask ?s to find out stuff including:
• co-location
• physical space
• management support
• handicaps
• etc.
How do readiness assessment: one on one interviews, happy hours, self-assessment tool,
summarize findings and recommendations. This includes costs and builds credibility
Ensuring visible support from management – space to try new things
Pairing
Value stream mapping to assess current state
Review/existing project artifacts prior to setting goals in a chartering workshop (artifacts include backlog, burndowns, metrics, etc.)
Identify resistance
Observed the team several times
ENGAGING/SUSTAINING: (note: these are unordered or prioritized; affinity groups are clustered together with line breaks in between))
Get feedback about transition
Feedback one-on-ones individual coaching
Track runnable tested features (RTF)
Retrospectives (non-boring)
Find internal coaches/allies
Check in-in on progress and adapt to needs
Model behavior
Pair with people
Share materials from others that share your belifs, practies
Bill every two weeks
Tailor (made)
Conduct workshops ton specific topics that build on overall objectives of the engagement
Monitor performance and adjust
Observe what going well/badly
Some amount of C level “training†to build a common language and adopt their language
Team workshops to learn about agile and discuss context of upcoming works (team and org)
Teach principles until they can apply them
Peer discussion to get help
Was able to design the teams’ space in ways that kick-started process and visibility
Was able to line in experienced agilists to provide critical mass of agile knowledge
EXITING
Ensure knowledge transfer takes palce
Wean the team (move them from “taking direction†to self-dirctions)
Check management alignment (sustainable?)
Linked-In testimonials
Keep in touch with good people after departure
Celebrate success
State of the union…metrics
Shadow period (before walking away)..
Setting up ongoing support system/check-in
Ask if you recommend what could you have done for stronger referene 9Ilya Preuss)
Reference and press release
PUZZLE
Boundary between entering and engaging
FACTORS FOR ADAPTING YOUR ENGAGEMENT MODEL:
It depends
Colleague shadow
Co-coach therapy
The light bulb joke