This week I had the amazing opportunity to attend the Agile Coaching Bootcamp in Essex, MA near Boston, hosted by Lyssa Adkins, Katrina Ferguson, and Clive Prout of the Agile Coaching Institute. I had the chance to learn from and with incredible agile coaches and make new friends. The first half of the course was focus on the Agile Facilitator, and I want to share some ideas that emerged:

 

Meta-Skills

Sometimes It’s not right just yet.

For any suggestion, hold it lightly.

Give people less time for an activity in order to induce flow.

There are three types of deliverables: Heads (knowledge), Hearts (buy-in, belief), and Hands (actions, artifacts).

Purpose statements should be short, testable, and resonant.

The coach/facilitator needs to step back in order to step up.

Its not about being right, its about being of service.

 

Power Statements

I create the container, they create the content

It’s their meeting, not mine

Meetings are real work (facilitation required)

My actions enhance their self-organization

Success = a fulfilled Purpose

 

Personal Commitments

I will identify dysfunctional acts so that I can address them in a positive way and leverage them as a strength for the group.

I will separate the behavior from the person so that I connect to others at a human level.

I will make better working agreements and ground rules for teams so that they can collaborate more effectively.

I will understand team members personality typology (DiSC, MBTI, Temperament, True Color, etc.) so that I can apprehend their individual human needs.

I will prepare better for meetings that I facilitate so that attendees know what’s in it for them and how they can contribute.

I will use the POWER start technique for meetings and events so that I set the tone and direction and ensure we fulfill our purpose.

I will work to ensure participants are listening, and ask questions to keep them engaged with the speaker so that everyone in the meeting contributes to the outcome.

I will ensure the purpose of the meeting is met, and close the meeting appropriately, so that participants have ownership of decisions and outcomes.

I will use impact feedback as a way to give support and affirmation, both positive and negative, so that they receive timely feedback in a constructive manner from my own perspective.

I will focus more on relationships in the agile facilitator stance over process and results so that I can better connect with my team and work toward a common goal.

I will recognize the tension between lean-agile practitioner and facilitator so that I can better serve the team in both capacities.

I will remove myself from the center of daily standups and focus on my agile facilitator stance so that the team can build internal capacity and self-reliance.

I will implement agile chartering for new projects so that business owners and delivery teams are aligned to a common purpose.

I will strive to be invisible yet effective as a facilitator so that the team can collaborate and flow.

I will use agenda questions as I facilitate so that participants are aligned to purpose focus on outcomes.

I will make better use of and actually address parking lot issues so that teams maintain focus on the meeting agenda and trust that I will follow through on additional ideas that arise.

I will work to control (manage) emotional triggers and recognize that it is a natural and human side of coaching so that I can better serve teams as a neutral facilitator.

 

I am so excited to take these new skills and ideas back to my teams.

 

Until the next iteration . . .