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Agile coaching — why sometimes it’s best not to be the expert
Can you let go of knowing?
Every week, a group of us — all agile coaches at the same organisation — get together for an hour-long ‘chapter’ meeting. We use the time in different ways. There’s a monthly book club session, where we talk about a book one of us has discovered. There are presentations on a diverse range of topics covering agility, psychology, tools and techniques, and coaching skills.
I always enjoy these sessions because I almost never fail to learn something.
Recently, it was my turn to present a session. I got everyone into groups of three, and sent them into breakout rooms. In each group someone took on the role of coachee, presenting in just two minutes a problem or challenge he/she was dealing with, and a coach, whose role it was to actively listen to the coachee, ask powerful and impactful questions using the GROW model in order to help the client to better think through their problem in just ten minutes. Then they switched roles.
Yes, I know ten minutes isn’t enough to solve problems, but that wasn’t the point of the exercise; it was just about getting more used to asking questions instead of giving advice.
The third member of the triad was an observer whose job it was to time the sessions and ensure…
