This is why Agile coaches need to understand Business

Agile coaches work with teams and organization in order to help and support them with the needed environment to thrive and reach a good level of maturity, self-organiszation and efficiency.

They try to help teams, management and individuals to absorb the agile mindset composed by the 4 values and 12 principles through applying practices, frameworks, methods and tools. For example the framework scrum.

The thing is that becoming Agile isn’t an end goal in itself, rather it should be a mean to an end.

The end goal is the desired outcome in achieving better business results.

The agile mindset and practices should be an enabler for better business results.

The problem is that sometimes the end goal is lost in the enthusiasm of becoming agile.

Since Agile transformation requires a change in skills, processes and culture, it involves effort. The whole point of this effort is to achieve a better business outcomes for the company.

To achieve this business outcomes, you need to deliver products and services that customer like which resonate with his identity.

If the goal of an Agile transformation is a better business result, do agile coaches need to understand business?

The answer is a big YES.

Through my experience as a Scrum master / agile coach, I learned that if I understand the basics of the business model and strategies in which I am working, I will spend less time in explaining the value of Agile mindset.

I learned to open myself up to learning about business. I discovered a new world full of insights and concepts that can help me convey and articulate better my ideas to teams or to the management.

Knowing business concepts can increase your credibility as an agile coach.

“If you just go into the room and narrowly think about “Agile, Agile, Agile,” and if you don’t value the business or understand why you have to move to the market quickly, your contribution will not be felt.”

Business-aware Agile coaches have the ability to influence outcomes better than Agile coaches that they have no idea about business.

Knowing business will allow you to gain more empathy regarding how your business colleagues think and what you customer think.

The world need more successful agile coaches involved in strategic decisions, therefore more agile coaches need to learn the language of business.