The next time you’re looking to engage an agile coach, there’s an additional set of questions I want you to explore with them—
Do you (they) have a coach?
How often do you (they) meet?
What are you (they) currently working on in your journey?
What was the last crucial conversation you (they) had with your coach like?
Reflecting on your being coached journey, how coachable are you? What are the keys to your being coachable?
What I’m asking you to explore is their personal coaching journey. I feel that most agile coaches are comfortable coaching. But the counterpoint, being coached and being coachable, are often a different question. I guess it’s the age-old challenge of telling being easy and receiving being much harder.
I was inspired by this article by Barry O’Reilly – Everyone Needs a Coach.
The other side of this is exploring my own vulnerability on the matter. As I’m in need of a coach myself. I find it challenging at times to find one who can align with me and where I’m at in my own journey.
Over the years, I haven’t always had a coach. Although I’m often collaborating with agile colleagues, so I get quite a bit of coaching by pairing and collaborating. That being said, I often (like now) find myself in need of coaching.
I think of it as—
Having a mentor
Having a sounding board
Having a mirror for my blind spots
Having someone who will tell me the truth
Having someone who is focused on my development
Having someone who I trust
So, if you’re interested in helping a mature, slightly curmudgeonly, and quite opinionated agile coach continue to find his way, then please reach out to me. I’d love to explore how we might create a space where I can discover who I am and what I’m capable of in this wonderful journey called agile coaching.
But be warned, I’m still working on…coachability ;-)
Stay agile my friends,
Bob.